The Heist
by abbywesten
Summary: Tony and Tim find themselves in the middle of a bank holdup. Things take an unexpected twist and Tony's life is threatened. Tony-centered team friendship, Gibbs/Tony father/son, no slash.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Another Tony/Tim friendship story. No slash. Please read and review and I hope you enjoy! -abby

**********

"I have to admit, Tony, you really called it. Are you **sure** you didn't already know where Abby was planning to get her new tattoo?" McGee got out of the car and slammed the door.

"Probie!" DiNozzo feigned surprise as he climbed out of the driver's seat. "I'm hurt. You think that I cheated to win a bet? I got lucky is all. Won it fair and square, promise. You can ask Abby. I had no idea that she was planning to get another tattoo on her back." Tony crossed his heart with his fingers.

"Fine, fine, I'll get your money," Tim said. "Let's just hurry, Gibbs will be looking for us soon. I wish I hadn't lost my ATM card, it always takes forever at this branch."

As they talked, the two agents stepped inside the front door of the First District Bank. They showed their IDs and declared their weapons with the security guard on duty. The elderly guard smiled and waved them past. "Have a nice day, fellas," he said cheerfully.

DiNozzo stood off to the side while McGee filled out a withdrawal slip and waited in line for a teller. Tony busied himself by people-watching. The bank was fairly quiet at 1100 hours since it was between the opening rush and lunchtime. There were five tellers behind the counter, a college-aged girl in line ahead of McGee, and other than them and the guard Tony was the only person in the lobby.

Tim had just stepped up to a teller window when the main doors flew open and six men wearing ski masks stormed in. Tony looked over in shock as the leader opened fire at the ceiling.

"Okay!" The gunman yelled over terrified screaming. "This is a robbery! Everyone face down on the ground now! Hurry it up and no one gets hurt! And no alarms!" McGee, the frightened college student and the security guard quickly complied, dropping to their knees and laying on the ground.

As he slowly lay down on his stomach, Tony mentally weighed his options. _Six of them, two of us, can't count on the old-timer security guard. He doesn't have a gun._ He risked a glance over at McGee and could see his partner thinking along the same lines. They made eye contact and with a small shake of his head, Tony managed to convey his decision – _lay low, it's too dangerous_. He could tell that Tim agreed.

After silently - and quickly - conferring with Tony across the lobby, McGee tried to shift on his stomach to ensure that his holstered weapon was not visible. Four of the gunmen were momentarily occupied, screaming at the tellers to empty their drawers. One other was keeping watch on the hostages, and the leader was kicking in office doors and pulling the occupants out into the main room. _Really wish I had worn my long coat today, _McGee thought. He didn't even want to contemplate the fallout if one of the gunmen saw that he was armed.

After all the office workers had been roughly ushered into the lobby and the tellers had been forced from behind the counter, Tony surreptitiously did a head-count of the hostages. _Aw crap,_ he thought, _eighteen not counting us. Plenty of people to use as leverage._ He fervently hoped that one of the tellers had managed to trigger a silent alarm while emptying out the cash drawers.

As if in answer to his mental plea, Tony suddenly heard sirens nearing their location. Predictably, the robbers did not seem nearly so pleased. The lead one - _Bossman,_ Tony decided - reappeared from somewhere in the back and aimed his weapon at the frightened tellers.

"Which one of you was it?" he roared. "Who did that?" The five women sobbed and looked away, none willing to admit which had summoned the police. Bossman grabbed the nearest one and pulled her upright by the hair. She screamed in terror and at that point Tim could stand it no longer.

"Stop it!" McGee yelled from his face-down position nearby. "Let her go!" His unwavering voice did not reveal how quickly his heart was hammering in his chest.

_Probie! Be quiet,_ DiNozzo thought desperately. _Don't call attention to yourself, man! If they find out we're armed…_Tony could not even bring himself to finish that thought.

McGee's words had an immediate effect. Bossman dropped the terrified teller back to the ground and slowly turned to face the junior NCIS agent. "What did you say?" The lead gunman's words were a menacing growl.

To his credit, Tim didn't back down. His voice was strong as he twisted his head to look up and reply, "I** said**, leave her alone."

Tony closed his eyes and pressed his forehead against the cool tile of the lobby floor as he prayed that Tim hadn't just gotten himself killed. He looked back up just in time to see Bossman swiftly and forcefully kick his partner in the side. McGee gasped and cringed in pain. The furious man was gearing up for another attack whenever a booming voice came from just outside the bank's front doors. Tim coughed as Bossman turned away from him.

"This is the Metro Police! We have the bank surrounded. Release the hostages and no one will get hurt." The voice was tinny over a megaphone, but the words were clearly understood.

"Not a chance," declared Bossman firmly. The lead gunman looked at his cohorts as all six aimed their weapons toward the hostages. He grinned evilly, his mouth only partially obscured by the dark ski mask. "Settle in, kids. Looks like it's gonna be a long day."

DiNozzo groaned silently. _I just __**had**__ to make Tim pay up,_ he thought. _If these jerks don't beat him to it, Gibbs is going to kill me._ _  
_


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Wow! Thanks for all the reviews and alerts! Standard disclaimers apply, I still don't own NCIS. Hope you enjoy this chapter! -abby

*********

McGee's stomach churned miserably after the vicious kick to his side. He tended to get nauseated fairly easily but was pretty sure he had at least a couple of bruised ribs. Tim could feel Tony's eyes on him from across the room but feared if he lifted his head he would be sick. So instead he just lay as still as he could, eyes closed, and listened to the commotion going on around him.

After Bossman made it clear that no one would be released, he and his team set to work making their captives as minimal of a threat as possible. The six gunmen completely ignored the police outside as they set about zip-tying each hostage's hands firmly behind his or her back and sitting them one next to the other along the wall.

As one of the masked men roughly maneuvered DiNozzo's long arms behind his back he discovered Tony's SIG. With his knee in the middle of Tony's back to keep the senior agent firmly pinned to the ground, the gunman pulled the weapon out of its holster and shouted for his superior. Bossman crossed the lobby in five seconds flat and took the SIG from his subordinate.

"Well, well, what's this?" the leader asked. Tony didn't even bother to look up or answer. He kept his forehead pressed to the floor as his arms continued to be painfully restrained. _Not like anything I say is going to help, _he thought defiantly. Bossman knelt down next to the senior field agent and without another word hit DiNozzo over the head with the butt of his own gun. Tim gasped and one of the tellers screamed as Tony went completely lax in his captor's grip. The gunman holding him easily bound the unconscious agent's hands before standing up.

"Would anyone else like to share with me? Any others packing a weapon?" Bossman's tone made it clear that lying would be very dangerous.

Tim hesitated before answering. He had been hoping to avoid this particular confrontation but knew the jig was up. "Me. I'm with him." McGee nodded toward his partner. One of the masked gunmen retrieved Tim's SIG from his belt and tied the junior agent's hands tightly behind his back before shoving him against the wall next to the security guard.

Bossman smiled threateningly. "Good boy," he mocked. "How about telling me who you are?"

McGee did not want to answer that question but wasn't given a choice when his ID was roughly pulled from his back pocket. He looked across the room just in time to see the same thing happening with the still-unconscious DiNozzo.

Bossman flipped open Tim's badge. "Ah, NCIS Special Agent Timothy McGee. And who is your friend?"

A tall, rail-thin gunman was the one to check Tony's ID. "Looks like this is Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo," Skinny said cheerfully.

At the sound of his name Tony began to stir. He woke up just in time to feel himself being dragged across the lobby and unceremoniously dropped in a heap next to Tim, and moaned as his already throbbing head hit the tile floor.

"Tony?" McGee kept his voice low. Five of the six bank robbers had already moved on to the bank president and were mercilessly harassing him for the vault combination. The sixth was watching the hostages half-heartedly as he tried to listen in on his buddies. Tim did not want to draw their attention. "Tony? You okay?"

_Crap,_ Tony thought. _I knew they'd be pissed when they found the guns_. Out loud all he could manage was a quiet grunt of pain. His head was screaming and having his wrists tightly bound in an uncomfortable position wasn't helping matters any.

"Tony." Tim was getting worried about the lack of response from his friend. A blow to the head like the one DiNozzo had received could certainly have caused a concussion and possibly worse.

Finally McGee got the response he was hoping for – the senior agent stirred again and softly said, "Yeah, Tim. I'm all right." Tony slowly struggled into a sitting position, keeping an eye on their captors the entire time. He carefully leaned against the wall next to McGee.

The two agents watched the scene unfolding before them, frustrated but helpless to do anything as the bank president was forced to his knees. Bossman held Tony's SIG square between the man's eyes and barked, "Last chance! What is the combination to the vault?!"

"It doesn't matter what the combination is, the vault time-locked when the silent alarm was triggered. It can't be opened again for 24 hours!" The president was clearly petrified, but Tony was impressed by his composure. He decided to throw caution to the wind and try a bit of deflection before Bossman pulled the trigger and became a murderer.

"Hey. He said he can't open the vault. Why don't you just ease up a little? You've got the money from the cash drawers and besides, the bank is surrounded. What's the point? No way are you getting out of this." Tony kept his tone non-confrontational but knew full well it wouldn't matter. He could already see the unrestrained rage in Bossman's eyes even from across the lobby.

The senior agent's plan was successful. The lead robber shoved the relieved bank president back to the floor and headed toward Tony. The clear fury in Bossman's eyes made Tony falter a little as the masked man stalked across the lobby. _Maybe this wasn't such a good idea, _Tony mused. _Too late._

The reaction was pretty much what DiNozzo had expected. Without a word Bossman again used the NCIS agent's own weapon against him. He slammed the butt of the SIG against the side of Tony's head this time, just above his left ear. The senior field agent slumped against McGee, out cold.

"You should tell your friend to keep quiet," snarled the furious gunman before he turned away and stormed back to his team, ignoring the frightened sobs of the other hostages.

_Jeez, Tony, that was dumb,_ McGee thought. _But it looks like you did save the poor guy's life. For now, anyway. _Tim shifted against the wall and somehow managed to ease DiNozzo into a more comfortable position, so that the older man's head was resting on McGee's thighs. Tim rolled his eyes inwardly as he thought about what Tony's reaction to that would be if he were awake to comment on it.

Tim bit down on his own nausea as he got Tony situated. It was not an easy task with his hands bound behind his back. Just then Tim noticed blood trickling down the side of the senior agent's head and neck. _Fantastic,_ McGee thought. _Just what we need._ He took a deep breath and addressed their captors.

"Is there any way I could get my hands free? He's bleeding and I need to get some pressure on the wound. I can't do that while I'm tied up like this." Tim didn't expect a favorable reply and so was very pleasantly surprised by the response from Bossman.

"Switch it so that his hands are tied in the front. Go ahead and do it with the other one too," the masked leader instructed one of his men. He then pointedly said to McGee, "That's all you get. Don't you dare ask for anything else."

Tim nodded his thanks, and sat quietly as a huge hulk of a gunman cut him loose and then used a new zip-tie to bind his wrists together in front of his body. After finishing with McGee, Hulk did the same with DiNozzo before rejoining his cohorts across the lobby. Tim could hear them quietly conferring as he returned his attention to his injured friend.

"Hey, Tony. Can you hear me? I need you to wake up now." Tim took off his necktie and gently used it to staunch the flow of blood. DiNozzo groaned and his eyelids fluttered as McGee put pressure on his painful head wound. "Tony? Come on, man. Time to wake up." Slowly the senior agent opened his green eyes.

"Probie?" Tony's voice was groggy and his confusion evident. "What happened?"

McGee sighed, relieved that his partner had so quickly regained consciousness even if he was still a little out of it. "You stuck your neck out for the bank president and got a gun butt to the head for your trouble," Tim quietly explained. "Do you remember?"

"Yeah, I think so…did it work? Is he okay?" Tony tried to sit up but didn't quite make it. He moaned as a wave of pain dropped him back onto McGee's lap. "Sorry, Probie," he mumbled.

Tim shook his head and quietly replied, "Don't worry about it. He's fine, the guy left him alone after knocking you out. I don't know what they're up to now. The phones have all been ringing continuously. I assume the police trying to get a negotiator on the line, but the robbers are just ignoring them along with the police outside. I really don't understand what they think they can accomplish by-"

Tim was cut off when Bossman began to speak. "Listen up! Here's what we're going to do. Change of plans. As a show of good faith, I'm going to let everyone go except these two." He indicated McGee and DiNozzo with a wave of his gun. "The way I see it, two federal agents are a pretty good consolation prize and quite frankly I'm tired of listening to the rest of you sniveling losers cry. Now GET UP!" Bossman's genial tone suddenly became enraged and sent the terrified hostages scrambling to their feet.

_What is this guy's deal?_ Tim wondered silently. _He's perfectly polite one minute and a complete monster the next. _A glance at Tony's pale face revealed that he was wondering the same thing.

The robbers arranged the eighteen captives into a single file line and led them toward the main lobby doors, being careful to stay out of view of the front windows. They obviously - and correctly - assumed that Metro PD had snipers watching them closely. Hulk cut the president's hands free and ordered him to hold the door open for the others. The frightened people ran out of the bank as quickly as they could, leaving DiNozzo and McGee alone with the six armed assailants.

Once the hostages were clear, all the phone extensions immediately began ringing off the hook. This time Bossman decided to answer, and picked up the line nearest to him. "Hello!" he said in a disarmingly cheerful voice. He paused briefly as the police negotiator spoke. "Why yes, you are quite welcome." Another pause, followed by, "Oh, don't worry. I still have some bargaining chips. A couple of NCIS special agents – Timothy McGee and Anthony DiNozzo."

DiNozzo managed to push himself into a sitting position and exchanged a worried glance with McGee.

Bossman abruptly hung up the phone and turned to face Tim and Tony menacingly. "I hope you boys are comfortable. We may be here a while."


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Y'all are right, I certainly do seem to enjoy hurting our boys, don't I? They're tough, they can handle it! Still don't own NCIS or any of its characters, you know the spiel. Please read and review! I love reviews! -abby

**********

"Where in the HELL are DiNozzo and McGee?!" Gibbs was pissed. His agents had left for lunch just before 1100 hours and it was almost 0100 already. While it wouldn't have surprised him too much if DiNozzo decided to take a long lunch, it certainly wasn't like his junior agent to be gone for so long without checking in. Gibbs again tried to call both of his agents' cell phones. No answer, just like the last several times.

Ziva looked up from her desk. "I do not know, Gibbs, I have not heard from either of them. I think I heard Tim say that they were going to the bank?"

She had barely finished speaking when suddenly several things happened at once. Abby came dashing into the bullpen just as Gibbs' phone began to ring. The forensic scientist opened her mouth to talk but Gibbs held up his hand to silence her as he took the call.

While listening to the person on the other end of his phone, Gibbs' blue eyes widened and then narrowed almost imperceptibly. His face darkened as he pressed his lips together in a tight line. Abby and Ziva instantly became concerned. They knew that face. That was the face of a very worried Leroy Jethro Gibbs.

Sure enough, as soon as he hung up Gibbs faced the two women. "They did go to the bank. It got held up. The suspects just released eighteen other people but kept Tony and Tim as leverage."

Ziva could not help but gasp and Abby's eyes immediately filled with tears. "Oh my God, Gibbs, what do we do? Oh my God oh my God-" Abby began to panic but Gibbs grabbed her by the shoulders carefully.

"Take it easy, Abbs. Ziva and I will go find out what's happening. I'll call you as soon as we know anything, okay?" The lead agent dropped a gentle kiss on the Goth's forehead before turning to Ziva and instructing her to grab her gear.

A terrified Abby watched them go, her lower lip trembling and tears streaming down her pale face. "Bring them home," she whispered to no one in particular.

When Gibbs and Ziva arrived in the parking lot of the First District Bank, they were greeted with chaos. It seemed that half of the Metro PD was set up in the tiny expanse of concrete. Gibbs immediately zeroed in on the officer in charge and stormed over, Ziva following close behind.

Gibbs flashed his badge. "Special Agent Gibbs, NCIS. This is Officer David. I received a call that two of my men are being held in there." He nodded toward the bank.

"I'm Lieutenant Keller. Thanks for coming. Unfortunately there's not much I can tell you beyond what you already know - eighteen hostages were released about 30 minutes ago, according to their statements there are six armed assailants. The gunmen are wearing ski masks and have no accents or otherwise remarkable traits." The lieutenant paused slightly before continuing. "Your men may be injured. Apparently they were punished for interfering when the suspects were harassing some of the other hostages."

"How bad?" Gibbs asked gruffly.

The lieutenant sighed. "I'm not sure. As far as I can tell from the various statements, one of them was kicked and the other was hit in the head with a gun and knocked out. Twice."

Gibbs didn't need to ask which one of his agents that was. No one could make himself a whipping boy better than Tony DiNozzo. The lead agent sighed and scrubbed his hands through his silver hair.

"What can we do?" he asked the Metro lieutenant.

Keller sighed. "I wish I knew. I can't figure out what this guy's game is. According to the hostages, one of them is clearly the leader and he swings back and forth between being reasonably friendly and incredibly cruel. His robbery has obviously gone horribly awry but he's refusing to give up. Our psychologist and negotiator have been trying to get him to pick up the phone so they can talk with him, but he has only answered once. He disclosed your agents' names and then disconnected the call. They have been unable to reestablish contact."

"Now what?" Ziva sounded impatient.

"For the moment we wait," Keller replied, "and hope that these guys give up soon and let your agents go. They released the others, maybe they'll do the same with your men."  
_  
Yeah, right. Nothing is ever that easy, especially when DiNozzo is involved_, Gibbs thought grimly. He just hoped that Tony and Tim could keep themselves out of trouble long enough for the situation to be resolved.


	4. Chapter 4

It had been nearly two hours since the other hostages were released. Bossman was clearly getting restless and was pacing the lobby from end to end. His subordinates watched but did not speak - the masked gunmen seemed almost as concerned as McGee and DiNozzo. The bank's telephones continued to ring every few minutes as the police tried to get their negotiator back on the line.

Tony could tell that Bossman was at a loss. _His plan is completely shot. He doesn't know what to do. But something's off…this guy's not entirely stable, _the senior agent thought wearily, fighting through the fog his mind had become. His head was pounding and felt as though it were packed with mud. _Another concussion for sure,_ he decided. _That brings my grand total to what, twelve? Thirteen? I've lost count._ Tony could feel himself drifting in and out of awareness. He lifted his bound hands up and gingerly touched the painful spot above his ear, wincing as his fingers came away covered with fresh blood.

"How ya doing, Tony?" McGee's voice was soft but held a note of concern. "You're kind of zoning out."

"Hm? I'm okay, Probie," DiNozzo slurred. That did nothing to reassure the younger agent, especially combined with Tony's pale complexion and glassy, unfocused eyes.

_I have got to get him to a hospital. He's fading._ Tim had no idea what the gunmen thought they would achieve by continuing this standoff. He sighed. _If they won't talk to the police negotiators maybe I can get them to listen to me. I don't know that the leader can be reasoned with but I also don't have much of a choice at this point._

McGee inhaled deeply to settle his nerves - and his queasy stomach - before addressing the boss. His bruised ribs protested the action and Tim winced as he said, "Um, do you think that maybe you could let us go? I know you said not to ask for anything else, and I'm really sorry, but my partner has a bad concussion and needs medical attention." He took another, shallower, breath before continuing, "Maybe if you give yourselves up now you can get a light sentence…I mean, you did let the other hostages go and you haven't killed anyone." _Yet,_ he added mentally with a worried glance at his ashen-faced partner. Tony was unmoving, eyes closed and head tilted back against the wall.

Bossman stopped in his tracks and turned to face his captives. His cohorts watched with interest as he quickly crossed the large room and stood directly in front of McGee.

"So you think I should give it up, huh? That we should just surrender and turn ourselves over to the cops?" The man's voice was a dangerous snarl.

McGee gulped and looked away. He was beginning to wish he'd kept his mouth shut. _I hope I didn't just get us both killed, _Tim thought miserably.

The masked gunman knelt down and stared at the two agents. For a moment he actually appeared to be considering McGee's words, and Tim allowed himself a small glimmer of hope.

Tony gathered his strength and carefully lifted his throbbing head. "He's got a point, you know," the senior agent said slowly. "It will be easier on everyone if you just give yourselves up now. Eventually the cops will get tired of waiting and they'll storm in here guns blazing. Why don't you just end this? There's no reason for anyone to die." After speaking Tony rested his head back against the wall, but continued to look the lead gunman directly in the eyes.

Bossman stood up, never breaking eye contact with DiNozzo. "You are correct about one thing," the masked man said genially.

McGee could not hide his surprise. "Really?"

"Yeah," the lead gunman replied. "I haven't killed anyone." Abruptly he drew his weapon, spun around and shot one of his own men right between the eyes. The others looked on in horrified astonishment as their dead companion dropped to the floor without a sound.

Bossman turned back to face the two shocked NCIS agents. The gunman shrugged and said coldly, "Now I have. Another conversation like that and it will be one of** you** next time." He tucked the gun in the back waistband of his pants and charged across the lobby to bark orders at his remaining four men.

DiNozzo and McGee could hardly process what had just occurred. Tim was mortified, and when he looked at Tony horror was evident on the other man's face. "He's insane," was all Tony could think to whisper.

For some reason, that simple statement scared McGee more than any of the day's events. He had always looked to DiNozzo for confident reassurance. Tony almost never showed fear. Tim had seen the senior agent in all kinds of alarming situations and only rarely did he seem anything other than in complete control. Now, however, the older man looked defeated and that terrified McGee.

At that same moment, somehow Tony realized through his pain-filled haze that the younger man was looking to him for guidance. With an effort Tony schooled his facial expression and pulled himself together for the junior agent's sake. _Get it together, Anthony_, he thought. _If **you** lose it he definitely will. We aren't dead yet,_ Tony thought. He smiled weakly at his partner. "Hey, Tim, it'll be okay. Gibbs has got our six. Don't worry." DiNozzo knew his tone lacked the confidence he was trying to portray.

The bank's phone lines had been ringing continuously ever since Bossman murdered his subordinate. The police outside had undoubtedly heard the gunshot and were trying to get an update on the situation. As a former cop, Tony knew the drill. It was only a matter of time before they sent in a SWAT team to take out the armed robbers. The fact that there had only been a single shot fired was probably the only thing holding them at bay. The cops knew that even if that shot **had** been directed at the NCIS agents only one of them could have been hit. However, it was only a matter of time before the police - or Gibbs - grew tired of waiting and decided to put the standoff to an end.

That line of thought caused Tony's sluggish brain to catch up with his mouth. He finally realized that his words to Tim had been true. Bossman had given their names to the police, and Gibbs would have certainly been notified of his agents' situation. Their boss would have immediately come to the scene and was no doubt outside the bank at that very moment. The thought calmed Tony instantly and gave him the hope he had unsuccessfully attempted to give Tim a few moments earlier.

"Probie." DiNozzo was speaking quietly to avoid drawing any unwanted attention, but his voice had regained some of the trademark self-assuredness. McGee looked up, surprised but glad to see that the senior agent's eyes were clearer and more focused than they had been for the last few hours. Tony continued, "The cops will send a team in soon. We need to be ready." Tim nodded and the two agents returned their attention to the scene unfolding across the lobby.

Bossman was screaming and cursing at his bewildered men. DiNozzo and McGee found it very unnerving that the four underlings were no longer bothering to hide their fear. Three of them were silently cowering and obviously trying to keep out of their enraged boss' way. However, all of a sudden Hulk decided he'd had enough.

"Come on!" The huge gunman begged his superior. "This is ludicrous! We've lost, all right? There's no way we're walking out of here with the money, we're completely out of options! Let's just surrender before they decide to kill us!" Hulk's desperate pleas were silenced as Bossman viciously grabbed the man and snapped his neck without a word.

"Does anyone else have a comment?" Bossman roared, as the second dead gunman dropped to the ground. The leader had stopped pretending to be friendly. His voice was completely devoid of emotion and his eyes stone cold as he locked the last three men in a glare. "I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm going to see this through to the end. Either I leave with my money or I die trying."

Tony looked at Tim, and saw his own unease mirrored in the junior agent's face. Those were the words of a man with nothing to lose.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: As per usual, not an expert on anything, don't own NCIS or its characters, yadda yadda yadda. Take everything I write with a grain of salt, but please read and review it anyway! I hope you enjoy! -abby

**********

Inside the bank, time seemed to be creeping along at a snail's pace. DiNozzo and McGee waited tensely for something - anything - to happen. They had expected that either Bossman would snap and kill another of his people or a SWAT team would storm the bank and put an end to the entire affair, but another hour passed in relative silence.

Tim was keeping a close watch on his partner. At first Tony had been trying to stay awake, but his previous burst of energy and clarity seemed to have depleted. The senior agent's eyes kept slipping closed and he had been leaning his head against the wall for the last half-hour. Now he seemed to have finally given in and was sound asleep.

McGee didn't blame him. In addition to being exhausted from stress, Tim's ribs were aching with each breath and he was stiff and sore from sitting in the same position for hours. His wrists were miserably raw from the plastic zip-tie binding them together, and his hands were going numb from loss of circulation. A glance at Tony's hands revealed the same situation - although the senior agent's left wrist was actively bleeding, Tim noted with concern.

The junior agent was about to try and rouse his partner when his attention was suddenly drawn to the other side of the lobby. Some commotion had started between Bossman and his three remaining cohorts. McGee couldn't tell what they were arguing about, but the raised voices were loud enough to wake DiNozzo.

"What's going on?" Tony was back to sounding groggy and confused. He lifted his head away from the wall and blearily looked around to find the source of the noise. "Probie? Where are we?"

_Oh crap,_ thought Tim. _This is not good._ _I shouldn't have let him go to sleep._

"We're at the bank, Tony. Remember? The hold-up? You got hit in the head." Tim spoke quietly and carefully, trying to jog the other man's memory.

"No…? Where's Gibbs? What happened?" Tony was getting agitated, a condition that only worsened when he discovered that his wrists were painfully bound and bleeding. "Probie? Why are we tied up?" Every slurred phrase out of his mouth was a question, and the inquiries were escalating in volume.

"Tony! Shhh!" McGee kept watching the gunmen out of the corner of his eye as he frantically hissed at his partner. For the moment the masked men were paying more attention to each other than to their captives. "We're being held hostage! It's going to be okay but we've got to be quiet, all right?!"

At the urgency in Tim's voice the injured man settled almost immediately. Even in Tony's confused state, his trust in his partner was obvious as he whispered, "Okay, Probie. Whatever you say," before leaning his head back against the wall and closing his green eyes once more.

The masked gunmen had stopped shouting at each other and Bossman resumed stalking back and forth across the room.

Tim released a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding. _This is very, very bad._ _Tony needs a doctor now,_ the junior agent thought worriedly. _What the hell are the police waiting on?_

Outside in the parking lot, Gibbs was getting incredibly impatient. He was pacing so furiously that Ziva would not have been surprised to see a rut forming in the concrete.

Finally Gibbs approached Lieutenant Keller and demanded answers. "What are you people waiting on?! It has been over an hour since that shot was fired, if it was one of my men he could have bled out by now!" The fury in Gibbs' eyes was unmistakable and it had caused many lesser men to falter. Keller was not one of them.

"Special Agent Gibbs." The lieutenant's voice was firm. "If you have suggestions I am open to them. However, I am very busy at the moment. The reason we haven't stormed the building yet is that we're trying to gauge how far your men are from the doors. We'll have to use gas grenades before we enter, and if your men are closer than the suspects to the grenades it could be useless." Keller gestured toward the front of the bank, where a SWAT team was gearing up in preparation. "Not to mention the effects the gas may have on your men if they are already injured."

Gibbs' stance immediately became far less hostile once he realized that Keller had a plan. But once he thought about DiNozzo and his history of respiratory problems Gibbs was troubled all over again. The lead agent nodded his thanks at the lieutenant and stepped away to call Ducky. A brief conversation assured him that while it wasn't ideal, even someone with plague-scarred lungs should not suffer long-term effects from tear gas. Gibbs snapped his phone shut and turned back to Lieutenant Keller.

"Let's do it," the lead NCIS agent said with authority. His gut told him that time was running out, and he had learned not to ignore it where his team - especially Tony - was involved.

Keller seemed to agree. "Five more minutes and my team will be ready to move. However, they're still not sure of your agents' proximity to the doors. We've been unable to access the bank security cameras and trying a camera snaked under the door didn't tell us much. The lobby is too large and the occupants too far away." The lieutenant was clearly concerned. "I don't know if this is a good idea, Agent Gibbs, but we're running out of options. It's pretty clear at this point that the suspects don't plan on making things easy."

Gibbs looked at Ziva, who had remained uncharacteristically silent throughout the entire exchange. She quietly concurred, giving Gibbs the extra assurance that he always seemed to need whenever Tony's welfare was involved.

When he spoke again, Gibbs' voice was quiet and even. "I'm sure that DiNozzo and McGee are ready to end this, one way or another. If they're in bad shape, we'll just have to deal with it afterward. Let's do it," he said for the second time, but with more confidence.

Keller nodded and prepared to give his men the word. "Two minutes!" he called over his headset. The fifteen-man SWAT team nodded and stood at the ready.

Tim's worry was growing exponentially with each passing second. Tony's head had lolled forward and he was clearly unconscious, not just asleep. Blood continued to run down the left side of the senior agent's face and neck, soaking his collar, and the blood seeping from his wrist had already saturated the cuff of his long-sleeved shirt.

McGee's own head was beginning to pound, no doubt due to a tension headache of extreme proportions. The junior agent had no clue how he should possibly proceed at this point, not that he had the energy to actually act if he had wanted to. _Maybe I'll just lay my head back for a few minutes, _he thought miserably.

Just as Tim decided to finally give into his fatigue, all hell broke loose. One of the lobby windows shattered and McGee saw three gas grenades land on the tile floor nearby. He began to cough - along with Tony and their four captors - as smoke billowed to fill the huge room.

The last thing McGee heard were the shouted commands of the SWAT team as everything slowly faded into darkness.


	6. Chapter 6

Gibbs held his breath in nervous anticipation as the SWAT officers stormed into the bank lobby. The lead NCIS agent could see tear gas wafting through the shattered window, and could hear the muffled shouts from the gas-masked team as they entered the building exactly thirty seconds after deploying the grenades. Gibbs wasn't used to relinquishing control and it seemed like an eternity - but was in reality less than two minutes - before Keller received the all-clear from his men. For her part, Ziva was quietly impressed that the police had managed to completely lock down the scene without firing a single shot.

The lieutenant grabbed three gas masks and tossed two of them at Gibbs and Ziva before putting on his own. They were hot on Keller's heels as the man hurried into the bank lobby. The SWAT team members had already cuffed the gunmen, and several of them were occupied by dragging the groggy - and pissed off - suspects outside. One officer was adjusting the building's air conditioner to try and clear the lobby of the gas, another was opening all of the office windows and two more knelt beside Gibbs' fallen agents. A couple of dead men lay on the other side of the room, one of them surrounded by a pool of his own blood. Lieutenant Keller immediately took charge, shouting commands both over his headset and to the officers inside.

DiNozzo and McGee were hard to see at first. For some reason the tear gas seemed to have concentrated heavily in the area directly around them, although the policemen were doing their best to fan it away. Gibbs and Ziva actually heard their colleagues before they were visible. Tim was coughing harshly through his unconsciousness, but it was the weaker sound of Tony's coughs that they all found particularly worrisome.

One of the SWAT officers was cutting Tony's bloodied hands free and putting pressure on the open gash when Gibbs joined him. Ziva knelt beside Tim as the second cop carefully unbound the junior agent's raw, painful looking wrists. The Mossad officer cringed as she realized how uncomfortable the tight plastic bindings must have been.

"Tony?" Gibbs kept his voice calm in opposition to the anxiety that churned in his gut. "Hey DiNozzo, can you hear me?" His senior field agent did not respond. Tony was very pale and listless except for the occasional fit of pathetic-sounding coughs, and Gibbs could not suppress a flash of panic when he saw the amount of blood that had come from Tony's head wound. "If it's clear, get the paramedics in here NOW," the lead agent growled as he gently pressed his handkerchief to the sluggishly bleeding wound. Gibbs used his other hand to impatiently pull off his gas mask and toss it aside.

"Right away, sir," said the Metro cop. He let Gibbs take over with DiNozzo and radioed the ambulance that was already outside in the parking lot. Within seconds a team of paramedics entered the bank, fully equipped with stretchers and oxygen. The EMTs wasted no time, quickly placing oxygen masks over the noses and mouths of both their patients.

The fresh supply of air had an almost immediate effect on McGee. The young man coughed a few more times before opening his eyes and attempting to lift his head off the floor.

"Ziva?" Tim's voice was hoarse from coughing and his eyes watery from the effects of the gas, but he was coherent. He looked over and saw Gibbs. "Boss. Thank God you're here, Tony's bad. He was really confused and-" McGee was silenced by Ziva's gentle hand on his shoulder.

"We know, McGee," she said softly. "It will be okay. The paramedics are ready to take you to the hospital. I will go with you." Ziva nodded at Gibbs as the EMTs cautiously lifted the young agent onto a stretcher.

Gibbs looked away from his senior agent long enough to watch them wheel McGee out the lobby doors, Ziva at his side. The lead agent allowed a brief smile to cross his face when he noticed that the Mossad officer was holding her colleague's hand. His team had become a family over the years, and it made him proud how much they looked out for each other.

The smile faded as Gibbs remembered the current situation. _But this is happening too much lately,_ the lead agent thought unhappily. _McGee and DiNozzo are magnets for trouble these days and after this they aren't getting out of my sight anytime soon. Especially DiNozzo._ He looked back down at Tony, pleased to see that the oxygen appeared to be having a positive effect. DiNozzo was still coughing faintly but beginning to stir as the paramedics prepared him for transport.

"Tony? You with me?" Gibbs could tell that his agent was struggling. "Come on, DiNozzo. Wake up," The older man was completely unaware of the pleading tone in his voice.

Slowly the green eyes opened but Gibbs immediately saw that Tony was not cognizant of his surroundings. The uncertainty was clear in the senior field agent's face as he looked at his boss.

"Boss? What happened? Where's Probie?" As with the last time DiNozzo awakened, he became more confused and frantic with each moment. He knew something bad had happened but the fog in his brain wouldn't allow him to remember exactly what that something was. His head really hurt, he knew that much. The rest of him wasn't feeling so great either. "Boss? Probie?!" Tony repeated agitatedly.

"Shh, Tony. Tim's okay," Gibbs soothed the younger man. When he realized that the EMTs were ready to move he continued with, "We'll go to the hospital and see him right now. You ready?" Gibbs looked up at the paramedics for confirmation and at their nods, he stood as they lifted the stretcher. The lead agent kept a gentle but reassuring grip on Tony's upper arm as they moved toward the waiting ambulance.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: I thought I was getting close to the end, but my muse had other plans and encouraged me to keep going! Positive reviews from you lovely people had an influence too, of course. Thank you. I hope I haven't gone too far with this story now that I'm taking it in a different direction than originally planned. As always, feedback is appreciated! Usual disclaimers apply (I don't own NCIS and I'm not an expert on anything), and that being said I hope you enjoy this chapter! -abby

**********

In the short time that Gibbs was inside the bank the parking lot had become remarkably empty, especially as compared to the previous hours. Metro had pulled so many units in during the standoff that once it ended, they returned to their other duties immediately.

The SWAT van had disappeared, along with several police cars and the vast majority of the officers that had been milling around earlier. The ambulance carrying McGee and Ziva had already driven away. A handful of uniformed cops were wrestling the cuffed suspects into the two remaining patrol cars and a few other Metro officers were still inside the bank along with Lieutenant Keller.

Gibbs stayed right by his senior agent's side, continuing to hold onto the younger man's arm as the paramedics rolled his stretcher toward the ambulance. The EMTs were being careful not to jostle the injured man unnecessarily. Tony was fighting sleep, eyelids fluttering open and closed as he checked to make sure Gibbs was still there.

"Don't worry, Tony," the lead NCIS agent leaned in close so that DiNozzo could hear the quiet words. "I'm not leaving. I've always got your six." Tony sighed in response and relaxed a bit, allowing his exhausted body to finally doze off.

At that same moment Gibbs was distracted by chaos erupting nearby. He let go of Tony's arm and drew his SIG at the shouts of the Metro police officers. Gibbs had a hard time believing the scene that was quickly unfolding before him. It appeared that somehow one of the bank robbers - the leader, unbeknownst to Gibbs - had managed to get out of his handcuffs.

The newly-free suspect overpowered the cop standing nearest to him with a sudden and brutal blow to the head. The officer dropped like a stone and Bossman grabbed his weapon in one swift movement.

"NOBODY MOVE!" The gunman's voice was thunderous as he pointed the gun at the fallen officer's temple. Bossman seemed unworried about the number of weapons - five of them, including Gibbs' - trained at his own head. "I _will_ kill him. Do not force me."

One of the unis spoke up. "What do you want?"

Bossman had the audacity to snort at the question. "What do you think I want?! I want out of here! Drop your weapons!!" With the gun still held firmly against the unconscious officer's head, the gunman looked around wildly. His eyes finally settled on the two NCIS agents. "That one-" Bossman indicated the blissfully unaware DiNozzo, "-is coming with me."

Gibbs bristled as his protective instincts came to the fore. "Like hell," the lead agent snarled, his SIG never wavering from its target.

Bossman smiled evilly in response. "Oh, that's nice. Looking out for your man, huh? Well, you don't know about my ace in the hole. I figured it might come to this so I have a backup plan. You know that busy little coffee shop across the street? It's wired to explode." The gunman produced a remote detonator from somewhere up his sleeve. The look on the man's face was a frightening mix of amusement and self-satisfaction.

Gibbs' icy blue eyes narrowed in fury as he wondered how exactly the police had missed _that _while patting down their suspect. A tiny handcuff key was one thing, but a detonator was much larger. Lieutenant Keller's men would be getting a piece of Gibbs' mind about the error once this was all over. In the meantime, however, the lead agent could only observe as Bossman pointed toward a nearby sedan and continued giving demands.

"You're going to load your man into that car over there. Then I'm going to drive away. And no one is going to follow me. Once I get out of sight, you can call in the bomb squad." He looked at Gibbs menacingly. "NOW!"

Bomb or no bomb, Gibbs wasn't about to give up DiNozzo so easily. He stared Bossman square in the eye as the unis looked on in bewilderment. "He's injured. Take me instead."

The armed assailant briefly appeared to be considering the suggestion before refusing. "No, I don't think so. I would really prefer to take him."

Out of the blue, Tony regained consciousness and lifted his head wearily. "Boss? What's going on?" His voice was muffled by the oxygen mask still covering his face, but he did sound significantly more lucid than the last time he had awakened. The senior field agent tensed when he saw that Bossman was again armed and now engaged in a face-off with Gibbs.

The lead agent did not look away from the gunman or lower his SIG as he replied, "Don't worry, DiNozzo. Everything's under control."

Bossman had lost patience. He spoke calmly and coldly. "Either your agent is in that car within sixty seconds or I will shoot this man **and** set off the bomb. Just try me." The stolen weapon was still pressed roughly into the side of the unconscious policeman's head, and the gunman's other hand held the detonator at the ready. The four other uniformed officers kept their weapons carefully trained on Bossman, but were clearly unwilling to risk the life of their colleague – or the lives of the many people across the street.

Gibbs had a similar thought process to the officers. Obviously his agent needed medical attention, but if the coffee house was truly wired with explosives then Gibbs was between a rock and a hard place. He did not see an alternative course of action that didn't risk a lot of civilian lives. The lead agent came to a decision. _If this bastard is going to insist on taking DiNozzo hostage again, then I'm going too, _he thought furiously.

"I'm going to put my weapon down, and I'll help him to your car. But I'm going too. I go where he goes. Just take it easy." True to his word, Gibbs slowly lowered his SIG and placed it carefully on the ground. He lifted his hands in the air and turned to DiNozzo.

"Tony, we have to go. I'll help you, come on." Gibbs pulled the oxygen mask off of his agent's face and placed an arm under his shoulders after releasing the stretcher's restraining straps. The paramedics silently assisted Gibbs as he lifted Tony forward and swung the injured man's long legs off the stretcher. Tony coughed a few times and trembled slightly in his superior's strong grasp.

"Ready?" The lead agent asked, as he wrapped one of Tony's arms around his own shoulders, preparing to help the taller man stand up.

"Let's do it," DiNozzo whispered softly. At the agreement, Gibbs and the EMTs carefully helped Tony to his feet. He leaned heavily into his boss for support, but did manage to stay upright.

Bossman, the paramedics, and the uniformed officers watched as Gibbs and DiNozzo slowly shuffled toward the small sedan. Once there, Gibbs opened the door and gently lowered his fragile agent into the backseat. Once Tony was settled and securely buckled in, Gibbs closed his door and got in on the other side.

The gunman took that as his cue. He pointed his stolen weapon at the Metro cops as he backed toward the car, remote detonator firmly clutched in his other hand. "No one move a muscle or I'll press this button!"

Bossman ran the last few steps to the sedan, started the engine and peeled out of the parking lot in a cloud of burning rubber before the cops even had a chance to react.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: I was a little blocked for a few days, but am rolling again with fresh inspiration. I know exactly where I'm going now. Short chapter this time, but I hope to get another one up very soon - tonight if I can. I'm off from work all this week, so that bodes well for you guys! -abby

**********

The ambulance transporting McGee had barely arrived at the hospital when Ziva's phone began to ring. As the paramedics rolled Tim's stretcher into the ER, she spotted Ducky and Abby waiting for them. Nodding acknowledgment to her colleagues, Ziva squeezed Tim's hand reassuringly before letting go and stepping away to take the call.

"Ziva David," the Mossad officer said into her phone. Her dark eyes immediately grew wide with worry as she listened to Lieutenant Keller on the other end of the line. "Gibbs did what?" she asked in disbelief. After a few more moments, Ziva thanked the lieutenant and disconnected the call.

She quickly located Tim, who had been put in a small treatment room. Abby and Ducky were by his side. Ziva did not even try to hide the concern on her face as she broke the news to her friends.

"One of the gunmen broke free of the police, and took Tony hostage again. Gibbs insisted on going too and the police had to let them leave the scene. The bank robber had wired a nearby building with explosives and was threatening to detonate it." Ziva rubbed her temples in frustration as she explained.

Abby gasped and covered her mouth with both hands. The Goth's eyes welled up with tears for the second time that day, and Dr. Mallard gently put his arms around the young woman as she sobbed.

"There, there, Abigail, they will be just fine. You know that Jethro will not let anything happen to Anthony." The ME tried to soothe Abby through his own significant concern.

Tim did not say anything at all, just sat up and swung his legs over the side of the gurney. He removed the oxygen mask that had still been covering his face and stood up before anyone realized what he was doing.

The junior agent headed for the door, ignoring his colleagues' sounds of protest. "I have to get out of here. Where's the doctor? I'll check myself out AMA if I have to, but there's no way I'm going to just lay around while Tony and Gibbs are being held hostage by that psycho."

While Ziva had not revealed which gunman had taken the two agents, McGee had witnessed enough during his own captivity to know that it had to be Bossman. The thought chilled him to the very core.

Ducky gently put his hand on the young man's shoulder. "Perhaps you should let a doctor look you over, Timothy."

Tim shook his head. "There's no time. You can take a look really quick if you want, Ducky, but I'm fine. Just a few bruised ribs is all. I promise." _Tony wasn't so lucky,_ he thought worriedly, but kept that comment to himself. "They just brought me in as a precaution."

Ziva did not try and stop the determined junior agent. She understood the feeling of helpless frustration, and she was not going to keep McGee from doing his job if he felt up to it. Besides, she would need him if they were going to locate Tony and Gibbs quickly.

Abby did not see things that way. "But Timmy! You need to take care of yourself!" The forensic scientist's voice was a near-hysterical shriek. Abby was torn by concern for Tim and terror for Tony and her beloved Gibbs, and she could hardly think straight.

Tim looked at his distraught friend and chose his next words very carefully.

"I'm okay but Tony needs our help. We don't have any time to waste." With that, McGee opened the door and stepped out of the tiny room. Ziva was right behind him. Dr. Mallard squeezed Abby tighter as they watched their friends take off down the hall.


	9. Chapter 9

As the sedan sped away from the bank, Gibbs allowed himself a very brief moment of remorse. Rarely one to second-guess his own decisions, this time Gibbs sighed and found himself thinking, _Stupid, Jethro. Very stupid. You should have just taken a chance and shot the bastard. It was probably worth the risk. _Knowing that wallowing in guilt would not improve the situation, the lead agent shook his head and addressed DiNozzo.

"How ya doing?" He knew that Tony tended to get carsick even when he wasn't injured, and his senior field agent had already turned an alarming shade of green. "You gonna be sick?" Not that there would be much Gibbs could do if the answer was yes.

Eyes closed, Tony kept his head as still as he could against the bouncing of the car. "I might," came the weak response, punctuated by a cough. "But I'll try not to puke on you, Boss."

Gibbs couldn't help but chuckle dryly. No matter how bad he felt, Tony was always Tony. He seemed to have rallied in the last few minutes even though he was undoubtedly in a lot of pain. Gibbs made a mental note to tell DiNozzo exactly how proud he was of him, once they got out of this mess.

The lead agent had strategically placed himself behind the driver's seat, so that he could make his move once they got far enough away. However, he didn't know how far that might be – some remote detonators had a range of several miles. Gibbs didn't want to attack the gunman while they were still within range and risk setting off the bomb at the coffee shop. He would have to be patient and hope that an opportunity presented itself soon.

Bossman kept his gun in one hand and the detonator in the other as he steered. He sped through the streets as fast as he could, dodging other cars and leaving a slew of furiously honking drivers in his wake. Unfortunately for his hostages, traffic was light this time of day so he was able to get much further - and go much faster- than he would have during rush hour.

Gibbs kept a close watch on DiNozzo as their captor drove wildly across town. The younger man had become paler than seemed possible given his olive complexion, but he impressed the older man by continuing to remain conscious. Tony also somehow managed to keep from getting sick, and his boss had suffered many concussions himself so he knew that must have been quite a challenge.

A very long ten minutes later, the car careened to a stop inside the huge garage of an old warehouse. Gibbs tensed and prepared to make his move when he saw Bossman staring at him in the rearview mirror.

"Try anything and DiNozzo gets it." The gunman's voice was quiet, but the gun aimed at the younger man drove his point home. Gibbs started a little at Bossman's use of his agent's name. What had Tony done to deserve a personal attack? He knew better than anyone what a pain in the ass the senior field agent could be, but his gut told him that in this case there was more to it than that.

"Out of the car. Now." Bossman indicated the interior of the abandoned warehouse with a quick jerk of the gun.

Gibbs glanced over at Tony, who appeared shaky but determined. "A little help, Boss?" the younger man asked softly, as he swallowed hard to keep the nausea at bay.

Gibbs got out of the car and quickly walked around to the other side. Watching the gunman out of the corner of his eye, he bent down and carefully put one of Tony's arms around his shoulders and his own arm around the injured man's waist. He felt a swell of pride as DiNozzo made it to his feet with a minimum of assistance. The younger man clearly wasn't about to show their captor how much pain he was in if it could be avoided. Gibbs continued to provide support for Tony as they moved slowly toward the room Bossman indicated, their captor's gun pressed firmly into the lead agent's back.

Following the armed man's barked instructions, Gibbs situated Tony against a wall in the tiny storage room before sitting down himself. The floor was filthy and the air smelled stale. There was one window very high up, next to the ceiling, but it wasn't anywhere near being large enough for a fully grown man to fit through even if they could have reached it.

"Tie him up," Bossman ordered, handing Gibbs a zip-tie.

The lead agent knew that Tony's wrists were already raw and bleeding from being bound earlier. They had been bandaged by the paramedics, but blood was slowly seeping through the white gauze. Gibbs opened his mouth to protest, but stopped when Bossman once again turned his gun on DiNozzo.

"I'm sorry, Tony," Gibbs whispered as he tied the younger man's wrists together once more, being careful to put the plastic tie over the blood-soaked shirt sleeves and keep it as loose as he could without risking their captor's wrath. Despite his boss' gentleness, Tony couldn't completely stifle a whimper of pain.

"Good boy!" The gunman's mocking tone infuriated Gibbs. "Now it's your turn. First empty your pockets." Bossman found and removed Gibbs' backup gun from its ankle holster before destroying the lead agent's cell phone and pocketing his knife. The gunman then tucked his own weapon into the waistband of his pants so that he could tightly bind Gibbs' hands with another zip-tie.

Satisfied, Bossman viciously belted Gibbs across the face before standing up and leaving without another word. There was a loud thud as he bolted the heavy door behind him.

The lead agent tasted blood as he slumped against the wall, momentarily dazed. He blinked a few times to clear his vision, and once focused he noticed DiNozzo looking at him worriedly.

"You okay, Boss?" Tony was beginning to slur his words again, a clear indicator that his earlier adrenaline rush was wearing off. The lead agent was honestly surprised it had lasted this long given the severity of Tony's concussion.

Gibbs snorted. "Better than you," he said gruffly, in an attempt to mask his concern for the younger man. He swiped his bound hands across his mouth to get rid of the blood trickling from the corner.

"What now?" In addition to pain there was now a note of defeat in Tony's voice. He coughed lightly a few times before continuing, "He can't possibly think that NCIS will pay a ransom demand. What good will holding us do?"

Gibbs didn't have an answer for that. He sighed. "I wish I knew."

DiNozzo leaned his head back against the grimy wall. "Tired," he admitted softly.

While Gibbs had let Tony doze in the presence of the EMTs, now that they were away from medical personnel he was reluctant to let a man with a severe head injury go to sleep.

"I know you are, but I need you to tray and stay awake, okay? Can you do that for me?" Gibbs' voice was soft. He squeezed his senior field agent's shoulder gently. "I'm worried if you go to sleep you may not wake up."

"Mmmm." DiNozzo's eyes had drifted shut.

"Tony." Gibbs shook the younger man's shoulder. "Tony! Stay with me." He tried a different tactic. "Hey! Come on, don't pass out on me."

That got the reaction the lead agent was looking for. The green eyes opened and Tony even managed to sound somewhat indignant. "DiNozzos do not pass out," he asserted weakly.

Gibbs smiled. "I know they don't. You hang on, okay? We're going to get out of this." He decided to try and keep Tony talking. "What happened in that bank? Do you know this guy?"

"No…don't recognize him…" Tony spoke very slowly and quietly.

Something occurred to Gibbs. "I don't suppose you still have your cell phone?"

"Don't know…can't…remember…" DiNozzo's head lolled forward for an instant before he jolted himself awake with another cough. He looked around for a minute, obviously confused. "Where are we…? Boss?" The senior field agent's eyes had regained their previous glassy appearance.

"It's okay, Tony," Gibbs kindly reassured the younger man. "I'm going to check your pockets and see if you still have your phone, is that okay?" He hesitated to do anything without DiNozzo's permission, given his current state of confusion.

"Okay?" The response sounded like a question but the small accompanying nod seemed to indicate agreement.

Gibbs knew it was a long shot that DiNozzo might still have the cell phone, and sure enough, a thorough check of Tony's pockets revealed that it had been taken. So had the knife that Tony kept hidden in his belt buckle.

The lead agent sighed and scrubbed his uncomfortably bound hands through his hair. Truth be told, he had absolutely no idea how they were going to get out of this. Gibbs could only hope that Lieutenant Keller had apprised Ziva of their situation. Protocol mandated that the director of NCIS would automatically be notified, but Gibbs trusted Director Vance about as far as he could throw him.

_If Ziva knows, then she and McGee will find us._ Gibbs knew that as surely as he knew that he and DiNozzo were not going to die. _Not like this. Not here in this dirty, stinking hole. If we are going to die, we'll do it on my terms, _Gibbs thought fiercely.


	10. Chapter 10

Gibbs kept listening for sounds that may indicate their captor was returning, even as he devoted most of his attention to his senior field agent. Despite Gibbs' efforts to keep the younger man talking, Tony had spent the last thirty minutes drifting in and out of awareness. The lead agent was growing increasingly worried as DiNozzo's brief periods of lucidity became few and far between.

"Tony. Hey, listen to me." Gibbs was still trying to keep his agent awake as they sat side-by-side against the wall. "What were you and Tim doing at the bank, anyway?"

DiNozzo looked at him blearily. "What?" he slurred.

"The bank, Tony," Gibbs repeated patiently. "What were you and Tim doing there?"

Gibbs was surprised by the response. "My fault…" DiNozzo mumbled incoherently.

"What was your fault?" The lead agent gently prodded.

"Won a bet…wanted my money…this is because...of me…I'm sorry…" Tony was hard to understand, but sounded as if he genuinely believed he was to blame for the entire wretched situation.

"Jesus. Give me a break, DiNozzo. None of this is your fault. It was just bad timing, that's all." The lead agent shook his head, adding silently, _the kind of timing that seems to happen with you a lot, unfortunately._

Tony coughed weakly and winced at the stab of pain it caused in his head. Suddenly he could no longer keep the ever-present nausea under control and he found himself retching and vomiting onto the floor. Tony shuddered, his already weak body aching from the exertion.

Gibbs gently rubbed DiNozzo's back as the younger man emptied the meager contents of his stomach, then continued dry-heaving for a few minutes after. When it seemed he had finally finished, Gibbs carefully helped Tony relax against the wall, using his own body to support the trembling man.

"It's okay, Tony," Gibbs soothed quietly. "Go ahead and relax." He was still reluctant to let his agent go to sleep, but couldn't in good conscience keep him awake anymore, either. DiNozzo was clearly suffering, and the lead agent's fatherly instincts - not to mention his fondness for Tony - made it very hard for him to see the younger man so completely miserable.

DiNozzo groaned and shifted slightly against Gibbs, trying to find a more comfortable position. The zip-tie binding his hands together had become almost unbearably painful. Tony couldn't decide which was worse, the burning of his wrists or the pounding in his skull. He was having an extremely difficult time forming a coherent thought, but instinctively knew that Gibbs would take care of him and somehow get them both out of this. The feeling comforted the senior field agent for the second time that day and he relaxed.

Tony had finally settled against his boss, his breathing slowing as he dozed, when he was awakened by the loud opening of the heavy warehouse door. The senior field agent startled and while his vision was too fuzzy for him to clearly see the person standing in the doorway, he knew from the way Gibbs tensed that Bossman had returned.

"Just wanted to make sure you two weren't trying anything stupid, like an escape attempt." Now that it was no longer obscured by a ski mask, it was easy to see the malevolence written all over Bossman's face.

Gibbs snorted at the implication. "No need," he responded confidently. "My team will find us. They'll take you down."

Bossman laughed, an obnoxious sound that exacerbated Tony's already substantial headache. "Why don't you just shut up and go away?" DiNozzo offered weakly as his trademark stubbornness took over.

As had happened several times before, the gunman's demeanor changed without warning. He lunged menacingly at Tony, who was far too weak to put up any resistance. Gibbs tried to defend his agent, but with his hands literally tied he couldn't do much but protest loudly as Bossman dragged DiNozzo to his feet by the collar. Gibbs tried to stand but was immediately kicked back to the filthy ground. Their captor violently shook Tony for a few seconds before dropping the injured man in a heap on top of Gibbs.

Both NCIS agents grunted at the impact as Bossman switched moods yet again. Their captor laughed merrily as he turned to leave. The gunman was almost out the door when he spun on his heel and snapped his fingers. Gibbs struggled upright and glared at him.

"I almost forgot about what I actually came to tell you!" Bossman's tone was disturbingly cheerful. "I've set my brand-new plan into motion. It took me a little while, but I finally realized who you are. That would be Anthony DiNozzo of the massively wealthy Long Island DiNozzos, yes? I put in a call to daddy dearest just a few moments ago. If your father doesn't come up with five million dollars by six p.m. tomorrow evening, I'll sadly be forced to kill you both." The gunman did not look sad about the possibility at all, and after the surprising declaration he left the two agents alone once again.

Tony moaned, but this time it wasn't due solely to physical pain. Even through his fog, he now understood why Bossman had been insistent on keeping him, specifically, as a hostage. He gathered all of his strength and lifted his head to softly say, "I'm sorry, Boss. No way will my father ever pay a ransom for me," Tony paused to take a deep breath before continuing, "and he probably won't even bother to call the police and let them know there's been a demand."

Gibbs wasn't privy to all of the details, but he did know that Tony's relationship with his father - with his whole family, for that matter - was almost non-existent. However, having been a parent himself he could not even conceive of a man that would completely disregard a threat against his only son's life. _No child could possibly do something so horrible as to deserve that_, Gibbs thought furiously.

He spoke gently to his senior field agent. "Tony. Maybe your father-" To his surprise, DiNozzo did not even let him finish the thought.

"No. He won't even consider it. Not a chance. I'm sorry, Boss. We're going to die here. Because of me." And with that statement, Tony finally lost his valiant battle to remain conscious. He collapsed across the older man's lap without another word.


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: Thanks (as always) for all of the reviews and alerts! I really do enjoy reading each and every review that I get, and getting them may actually be a motivation for me to post sooner. Ahem. :) Anyhow, standard disclaimers apply, I still do not own NCIS or its characters, although original characters are of course mine. I hope you enjoy this chapter, please let me know what you think! (I put this chapter up then almost immediately took it down to correct something, sorry about that if you received multiple notices or something.) -abby

**********

Ziva and Tim had been at the Navy Yard for a couple of hours trying to track down anything to use as a lead, when they suddenly realized they had exactly nothing to go on. Lieutenant Keller had given them everything he had, but unfortunately it wasn't much. Bossman's cohorts didn't know his real name. They were all small-time criminals who claimed they had no prior connections with the man, just that he had recently approached them about a big bank job with a supposed huge payoff.

And since he had escaped before processing, Metro did not have any fingerprints to run. All the gunmen had worn gloves - and in fact were all still wearing them when Bossman got away - so there were no prints inside the bank. The officers who had removed his ski mask were looking at mug shots, and the mask itself was being tested for the possibility of DNA, but beyond that Keller was running out of options. His bomb squad was of course checking the explosives they had pulled out of the coffee house, but so far there was nothing traceable there either.

For his part McGee had been trying to track the GPS chip in Gibbs' cell phone, but with no success. Tim suspected that the phone had been destroyed, since Bossman had crushed both his and Tony's as they were being held back at the bank. If they knew Bossman's real identity, then McGee could have tried to track him via cell phone or bank records or any number of other things, but without that one vital piece of information Tim was at a loss. A BOLO had been put out on the sedan, but the plates had come up as having been stolen a few days prior. They were running into one infuriating dead end after another.

McGee's ribs were reminding him of the bruising every time he inhaled, and his head still ached from his exposure to the tear gas. He felt sick and was having a hard time concentrating. Mostly, however, Tim was extremely frustrated that he couldn't do more to help his colleagues – _No_, he corrected himself mentally, _not just colleagues. My_ _friends. Tony and Gibbs are out there somewhere, and god only knows how long Tony can last. _Tim slammed his hands down on the desk in annoyance. Ziva looked up from her computer at the sound.

"What is wrong, McGee?" she asked.

Tim laughed derisively before replying. "What's wrong?! Tony's got a serious concussion and he's been taken by some psycho that seems to have no problem killing on a whim. To make matters worse, this guy has Gibbs too, and we're supposed to find them both without a single shred of usable evidence? We've got nothing! Less than nothing!!"

"I know, Tim. I am worried also," the Mossad officer said quietly. She got up from her desk and walked around to stand beside McGee. "Have you heard from Abby or Ducky? Maybe they are having more luck with the two dead gunmen." Ziva had been extremely grateful when NCIS was allowed to bring the bodies back to the Navy Yard for processing. Lieutenant Keller had been more than cooperative and as he had pointed out, the federal agency had far superior technology than what was available to Metro.

Tim sighed. "Abby hasn't found anything useful on the clothes or in the backpacks yet, and Ducky is still finishing the autopsies." He brightened as he continued with, "But he should be about done by now, I'll go find out." McGee winced slightly as standing too quickly caused his headache to intensify.

The elevator doors opened just as Tim started to walk away from his desk. The junior agent couldn't hide the shock on his face when FBI Special Agent Tobias Fornell stepped into the bullpen.

Apparently Ziva was caught off guard too. "Fornell?" she asked. "What are you doing here?"

The FBI agent glanced at Gibbs' empty desk as he replied, "The FBI field office in Manhattan received a call earlier today about the ransom demand. Once I caught wind of it, I decided to come over and see if I could do anything to help. Where's Jethro?"

Ziva and Tim looked at each other in astonishment. Neither of them knew what they had expected Fornell to say, but that certainly was not it. McGee stammered nervously, "Wait, what? What ransom?"

Now it was Fornell's turn to look confused. "You don't know that DiNozzo" – he pronounced Tony's surname in his usual peculiar fashion – "has been kidnapped?"

"No, we are aware of that part. But this is the first we have heard about a ransom," Ziva explained. "Who is supposed to pay this ransom?"

Fornell shook his head bemusedly. "The call came into the field office a little while ago from DiNozzo Enterprises. It was strange, actually. The caller - a young woman - said that her boss' son was kidnapped, and Mr. DiNozzo has been ordered to pay five million dollars by six tomorrow evening or Tony will be killed." The FBI agent pulled a small notebook out of his pocket and flipped it open before continuing. "She said – and I quote – 'Mr. DiNozzo will not be paying a ransom, nor is he interested in the outcome of this case, but he wanted to perform his civic duty by notifying the proper authorities that there has been a kidnapping.'" Fornell looked up from his notes. "Sounds like DiNozzo's father is a pretty cold-hearted bastard," he finished.

McGee's eyes were so wide with surprise that for a moment it seemed as if they may pop right out of his skull. _All those times he talked about how his dad treated him…I thought he was joking! _ Having grown up in a loving, happy family, Tim could hardly wrap his brain around the idea that Tony's father would let him die, just like that.

Ziva, while furious, was not nearly so shocked. Her tenuous relationship with her own father had taught her that not all family situations were positive ones. Fury flashed in her dark eyes and she struggled to maintain control as Fornell looked at her.

"Where is Jethro?" he asked for the second time. "I figured he'd be all over this one personally." The FBI agent had never been sure why Gibbs liked DiNozzo so much - the younger man had always seemed like a gigantic pain in the ass to Fornell. But he knew that for whatever reason, Gibbs thought of Tony not only as a protégé, but almost as a son.

McGee sighed as he replied, "He is, more than you know. He was taken along with Tony." At the puzzlement on Fornell's face, Tim explained further. "Bank robbery, hostage situation, it's a really long story. The short version is, we have no leads at all."

Ziva chimed in, "And it appears that now we have a deadline as well." The concern was as evident in her voice as it was on the faces of her companions.

Fornell had just confirmed what she and Tim already knew – their friends were running out of time.


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: Mostly Tony/Gibbs father/son bonding this time, and I think it turned out a bit more angsty than what I usually write. Still don't own 'em, still not making any money off this. I just write the kind of stuff I like to read. I hope you enjoy this chapter. –abby

**********

After Tony collapsed, Gibbs did the best he could to make the injured man comfortable. Unfortunately it wasn't much. With his hands bound, the lead agent could not even remove his windbreaker to keep Tony warm. He arranged the younger man across his lap, using his thighs as a cushion and hoping that his own body heat would help fend off the chill. It was getting late, and the warehouse was becoming very cool as the sun went down. Gibbs had worried that once it was dark outside they would have no source of light, but to his surprise a couple of dim overhead lights switched on at dusk. _Maybe this warehouse isn't as abandoned as it seems, _he mused.

Gibbs sighed as he looked at his watch. They had been locked up for several hours already, and he knew that anything he could do for Tony was cursory at best. The senior field agent needed medical attention sooner rather than later. _Tony, I swear, you require more looking after than anyone I've ever known. _He smiled ruefully, remembering a long-ago conversation with the younger man. _Loyal as a Saint Bernard, maybe, but also needy as a lost puppy. _The memory faded and Gibbs' ice blue eyes hardened as he thought, _I'll get you out of this. Your own father might not care about you but I sure as hell do._

It suddenly occurred to the lead agent that he had yet to thoroughly examine their prison. He had been so busy trying to keep Tony awake and talking that he hadn't done more than a quick visual inspection of the small storage room where they were being held.

Gibbs slowly shifted DiNozzo off of his lap, gently supporting the younger man's head as he eased it to the ground. Once Tony was settled, Gibbs struggled to his feet and began walking the perimeter of the tiny room, inspecting every nook and cranny of the filthy space. He wasn't even sure what he was looking for, but figured anything could be useful – a shard of glass or metal he could use to cut their bindings, or something to use as a weapon against their captor. He had already ruled out escape – the room had only one entrance, which was closed off by a huge fire door that bolted from the outside. The single window was completely inaccessible and not an option at all.

Gibbs had almost finished surveying the room when his attention was pulled back to DiNozzo. His agent was weakly coughing, and Gibbs turned Tony on his side just as he began to heave and retch. Gibbs again rubbed the younger man's back to try and settle him a bit. Once DiNozzo quieted and his breathing evened out, the lead agent returned to his inspection.

Finally he was rewarded with the discovery of the tip of a huge nail that was jutting out of the wall near the door. It took almost ten minutes but after some effort Gibbs managed to free himself of the thick plastic. The zip-tie gave with a loud snap and the lead agent gratefully rubbed and flexed his wrists to get the circulation going once more.

He wanted to free Tony's hands too, but didn't see how that was possible unless the younger man became cognizant enough to help out a little. There was no way Gibbs could balance DiNozzo's dead weight and work on the tough plastic without causing further injury. Gibbs sighed and massaged his tingling hands. He hated the helplessness he was currently feeling, and fervently hoped that Ziva and Tim were having more luck than he and Tony.

Just then, DiNozzo started to moan in his sleep. He began thrashing weakly, clearly in the throes of an unpleasant dream. "No...I'm sorry..." Tony's soft voice was filled with remorse and pain. "Don't! Please, I'm sorry!" His thrashing became more frantic, and his cries of distress louder.

Gibbs quickly crossed the small room and gently grasped the younger man by the shoulders as he knelt down by his side. "Shh, Tony. It's okay, I've got you," he soothed quietly. "It's Gibbs, do you hear me? I've got your six." To his great surprise, Tony calmed almost at once and slowly opened his green eyes.

"Boss?" the words were quiet, but for the moment DiNozzo actually seemed coherent. "What happened?"

Gibbs wasn't exactly sure if Tony was referring to the nightmare or if he was again confused by their situation. He decided on the former and carefully replied, "You were having a nightmare, I think. How ya doing?"

Tony closed his eyes briefly, assessing his condition. "I'm…alive. That's good, right?" came the slow response.

"Yeah, that's good." Gibbs chuckled, again amazed at his senior field agent's ability to retain a sense of humor in any situation. He gently squeezed Tony's shoulder before asking, "Do you want to talk about it?"

"What's to talk about? My father is a bastard that is going to get us killed, that seems to about sum it up." Tony sounded far more bitter than Gibbs had ever heard him, but the older man figured he had a right to be. For now the lead agent wisely decided to change the subject.

"How about getting your hands free? You feel like you can get up?" Gibbs indicated the far wall. "There's a nail over there that I used, but it will take some doing. We can try if you think you're up for it."

Tony nodded almost imperceptibly. He rolled onto his stomach and drew his knees underneath his chest for leverage. The movement unfortunately brought on a new wave of nausea and pain. Tony gasped and pressed his forehead into the dirty warehouse floor, trying to quell the sick feeling. Dark spots were again dancing at the edges of his vision when he felt strong hands grab him under the arms, gently assisting him upright. Tony leaned gratefully into the support his boss provided, allowing the other man to practically carry him across the room.

Once they made it over to the nail, Gibbs eased Tony back down onto the floor and asked, "You ready? Do you need a few minutes?" DiNozzo was breathing heavily but managed to sit upright without support.

"No, do it." Tony offered his shaking hands toward Gibbs, who looked worriedly at his subordinate before getting to work on the zip-tie. Luckily he was able to cut through the plastic much faster than before, so DiNozzo was free in a matter of moments. Once finished, Gibbs carefully helped his agent to scoot back and lean against the wall.

"I'm going to check on your wrists, okay?" At Tony's quiet agreement, Gibbs gently pushed back the now-dirty bandages covering DiNozzo's bloody wrists. As he examined them, Tony took a deep breath that was punctuated by a cough. When the senior field agent spoke, his voice was almost a whisper.

"He never cared." Tony closed his eyes, remembering. He sounded sad as he weakly continued, "He put up with me until my mother died…then I was just…in his way."

Gibbs settled himself against the wall so that his shoulder touched DiNozzo's. He patted Tony's knee gently even as he mentally cursed the man's father. "You have people that care about you now. Not all families are bound by blood, you know," the lead agent said earnestly. He was never comfortable having touchy-feely discussions, but Tony needed to know how valued he was, not just to Gibbs himself but to the rest of the team.

"I know," came the soft reply. The senior field agent was clearly fading out again, but before he fell asleep Tony gathered all of his remaining strength and looked the older man in the eye. "Thank you, Boss. For caring…what happens to me. You're the first person that ever did." And with that, Tony's eyes slipped closed and he slumped against Gibbs, head coming to rest on the lead agent's shoulder.

Gibbs carefully maneuvered DiNozzo into a more comfortable position on his own lap and covered the younger man with his windbreaker as he thought, _It's always been my pleasure, Tony. I just wish your father could see in you what I do._

The lead agent sat there, Tony's head resting on his thighs, for the next several hours. He allowed his mind to drift, but was careful to stay awake in case their captor were to return. Gibbs periodically looked down to check on his unconscious agent, whose coughing fits were increasing in frequency. Suddenly, the older agent's thoughts were interrupted by the squealing of tires. The warehouse had been fairly quiet all evening but suddenly there was an unbelievable commotion. Gibbs held his breath and listened closely to the racket outside, hoping against hope that help had finally arrived.


	13. Chapter 13

Gibbs couldn't exactly make out what he was hearing. To his well-trained ear it certainly sounded like a police raid, but the lead agent knew that he was very tired and his concern for Tony had pushed him to the edge of desperation. He was unwilling to give into what may turn out to be false hope, so he continued to sit and wait. Gibbs' notoriously thin patience was strained to the limit as the minutes passed. Three minutes…five…the seconds seemed to drag on endlessly.

He returned his attention to DiNozzo, whose condition had seriously deteriorated over the past hours. Now he was shivering and his teeth chattering, and he moaned softly in between shallow, gasping breaths. Gibbs adjusted the windbreaker covering Tony and vigorously rubbed the younger man's chest and arms, trying to get some warmth circulating. The rattling sound that had developed in DiNozzo's chest scared the hell out of the lead agent. He kept trying to convince himself it was simply due to the chilly air in the old building, and not a precursor to something far more serious.

"Come on, Tony. Stay with me. Help is coming, I promise." Gibbs sincerely hoped that he wasn't lying. "Do you hear me, DiNozzo? We're getting out of here and you're gonna be just fine." Exhaustion colored Gibbs' tone, and the words contained none of his usual confident stubbornness. He sighed and shifted uncomfortably on the cold, hard ground, being careful not to disturb his injured agent.

Suddenly the noise outside grew louder and on the other side of the fire door Gibbs heard the very words that he'd been longing for. They were muffled, but still easy to understand. "Federal agents! Don't move!" The lead agent sagged with relief as he kept listening. The disembodied voice continued, "I said freeze! Drop your weapon!"

Gibbs tensed as several shots rang out, followed by a flurry of quieter activity. A few more stressful moments passed where he could hear virtually nothing at all. Then without warning, the bolt on the heavy door unlocked and it was slammed open. The lead agent released a breath he did not realize he'd been holding when he recognized the figure in the doorway.

"McGee! It's about damn time," he exclaimed. Tim was not bothered by the gruff words. He could hear Gibbs' concern for DiNozzo underlying the statement, and agreed with it wholeheartedly. McGee quickly knelt beside his friends, holstering his SIG while calling into his headset for paramedics.

"They're outside already. It'll just be a sec, Boss," Tim said as he took in Tony's pale face and shivering body with a concerned look. Gibbs made no motion to get up, instead continuing to cradle DiNozzo in his lap, rubbing the injured man's arms and murmuring quiet words of comfort when Tony began to moan weakly.

True to McGee's word, within two minutes a pair of paramedics rushed into the tiny storage room and immediately began assessing their patient. "How are you doing, sir?" The question came from a dark-haired female EMT and was directed at Gibbs as her partner continued examining Tony.

"Fine," came the brusque response, "but he has a severe head injury and has been unconscious for several hours now. He needs to get to a hospital."

The EMT nodded. She carefully checked Tony's pulse, being mindful of his raw and bloodied wrists. The young woman frowned, then gently placed an oxygen mask over his face as DiNozzo coughed faintly. Her partner was trying to start an IV, with little success. "He's badly dehydrated," the male paramedic observed, as he finally managed to slip the needle into one of Tony's veins. "Let's go." They carefully lifted the shuddering man off of Gibbs and loaded him onto the waiting stretcher. The senior field agent moaned softly and began to cry out in pain and distress.

Gibbs struggled to his feet as quickly as he could. It wasn't easy, given that he'd been sitting relatively motionless for so many hours. His back ached, and his bad knees were stiff and miserably sore from the cold. McGee noticed his boss' plight and grabbed the lead agent by the arm, gently helping him up. Gibbs nodded his thanks and held onto the stretcher for support as the paramedics began wheeling it away. He grabbed Tony's hand and squeezed firmly as Tim followed behind.

"I'm here, Tony. Take it easy," Gibbs said reassuringly. As had happened earlier, Tony quieted almost at once when he heard the lead agent's voice. McGee shook his head. He never ceased to be amazed at how DiNozzo always obeyed their boss, whether fully aware or not.

As the small group made their way into the main warehouse, Gibbs was more than a little surprised to see Tobias Fornell consulting with Ziva as Metro PD secured the scene. Beyond the Mossad officer and the FBI agent, Gibbs could see Bossman's body, still leaking blood from a fatal bullet wound through the heart. It wasn't hard for Gibbs to piece together what had happened, but he did wonder what Fornell's role was in all this. However, answers would have to wait until after Tony had received medical attention. Some things were far more important at the moment. Gibbs nodded an acknowledgment to Fornell and Ziva, who were looking on with concern as he limped alongside Tony and the paramedics.

Gibbs had to let go of his agent's hand as the EMTs carefully lifted the stretcher into the waiting ambulance. After Tony was secured, the woman climbed in as her partner hopped into the driver's seat. With some difficulty, Gibbs pulled himself into the back and settled next to Tony. He took hold of the younger man's hand once more as the ambulance sped into the night.


	14. Chapter 14

A/N: Sorry for the delay in updating! I do usually try to get a chapter up every day but sometimes can't make it. Hope this chapter is worth the wait…more Gibbs/Tony father/son stuff. I'm on a roll with that lately. Hope other people like it as much as me!

In addition to not owning NCIS, I'm not a medical professional so I'm just doing the best I can with the technical stuff. By the way, I do plan to wrap up all of the case-related questions. Just not in this chapter. :) We're getting close to the end, though. Bear with me, and enjoy! -abby

**********

Gibbs soon discovered that he needed to maintain some sort of physical contact with Tony to keep the younger man calm - the ambulance driver had unfortunately slammed on the brakes at one point and Gibbs pulled his hand away to steady himself. The reaction from DiNozzo was immediate and disquieting as he tensed and began to moan softly, although the sound was muffled by the oxygen mask. The older man grabbed Tony's hand once again and as soon as he did, the senior field agent visibly relaxed. The female EMT looked concerned as she continued to closely monitor DiNozzo's vitals.

The ride to the hospital was mercifully quick. Once the ambulance pulled up to the ER DiNozzo was unloaded and wheeled down the hall into a trauma room. A flurry of emergency staff surrounded him at once and Gibbs found himself being led into the small treatment room next door.

"Sit down, please sir. You can see your agent from here, and we need to check you over," an elderly nurse said kindly.

Gibbs remained standing. "I'm fine," he said stubbornly. "I need to stay with him," the lead agent gestured at Tony urgently. Gibbs took a step toward the door and suddenly his painful right knee buckled. Before he even realized what was happening, the diminutive nurse had grabbed him by the elbow and somehow kept him from pitching forward onto the hard floor.

"Yes, you seem fine," the nurse said. A twinkle was evident in her hazel eyes as she helped the glowering agent sit on the edge of the bed. "Let's have a look, shall we?" She was clearly not asking, since she gently pushed Gibbs back and lifted his legs onto the sheets. The nurse grabbed a pair of scissors and without another word, sliced the agent's right pant leg from the hem to just above his knee.

Gibbs protested crossly. "It's an old injury, just flares up from time to time. It's nothing!" He strained to look around the nurse and watch what was going on with DiNozzo. Tony seemed to be deeply unconscious. Although he was still surrounded by medical personnel, there was no sense of urgency emanating from the trauma room. Tony was not agitated and for the moment things seemed under control, so the lead agent relaxed slightly into the pillow and grudgingly allowed the nurse to examine his knee.

The gray-haired nurse was gentle as she prodded Gibbs' knee, but he could not stifle a small hiss of pain as she hit a tender spot. "Hmm," she said as she finished her inspection and looked up at the lead agent. "My understanding is that you were held captive for quite a while. When is the last time you had anything to eat or drink?" She had noticed the dark sunken circles around Gibbs' ice blue eyes, and the sallow appearance to the agent's complexion.

"Been a while," he admitted gruffly. Not that he planned on taking the time for a meal until he knew what was going on with Tony.

The nurse was not surprised by the response. "Indeed," she replied, as she moved on to Gibbs' wrists. They had been rubbed raw by the tight zip-tie and the skin was broken in a few places. The lead agent sat quietly as the nurse cleaned and bandaged his wrists and wrapped his swollen knee. However, his patience waned quickly and as soon as she finished he demanded to see Tony.

The petite woman was not rattled by the angry tone. "I'm going to get you some water. You are on the verge of dehydration. If you promise to drink all of the water, I will check on your agent while you do. Deal?" She looked at Gibbs sternly, but her voice was not unkind.

Gibbs glared at her for a moment before agreeing. "Fine," he said curtly. The nurse disappeared for less than a minute before returning with a huge cup of ice water and a pitcher containing more. She handed them to the silver-haired man and true to her word immediately went next door to check on DiNozzo, correctly assuming that Gibbs would hold up his end of the bargain.

Gibbs had not realized exactly how thirsty he was. He quickly drained the cup without coming up for air and had just refilled it when chaos exploded in the trauma room. He could hear shouts and see the frenzied activity through the glass.

The lead agent got to his feet and hobbled to Tony's bedside as quickly as his knee would allow. DiNozzo was thrashing violently, and although his eyes were open he was definitely not aware of his surroundings. Confusion and fright were obvious in his glassy eyes, and Tony seemed to be searching desperately for something. Three nurses - including the one who had been with Gibbs - were struggling to subdue him as the attending doctor called for a sedative. A fourth nurse arrived with soft restraints, which she used to tie Tony to the gurney as he whimpered.

"What's going on?" Gibbs barked. Without waiting for an answer, Gibbs grabbed his agent's lax hand and squeezed. "Tony. Tony! It's Gibbs. Can you hear me?" DiNozzo didn't seem to be aware of his presence. _Dammit_, the lead agent thought, _I knew I should never have left him alone._ He tried once more. "Tony, listen to me. I'm not leaving you again. I'm sorry. I'm right here."

Just as a nurse was about to push a heavy dose of sedatives into DiNozzo's IV, the injured man finally seemed to hear the familiar voice and calmed instantly. Tony focused on Gibbs for a brief second before suddenly relaxing and closing his eyes again. The nurse froze and looked at the doctor, who gestured for her to hold off. "Who are you?" the physician demanded.

"His boss, his legal next of kin, and the closest thing he has to family. And I'm not leaving," Gibbs said with finality. _Don't worry, Tony, I will **not** abandon you._

"Trust me, Doctor, it will really be best for your patient if Agent Gibbs is allowed to stay," a familiar Scottish brogue said firmly. Dr. Donald Mallard had entered the room during the commotion and he stepped up to the bedside.

Ducky noted the relieved look from Gibbs as he pulled the doctor aside. Gibbs didn't even bother to pay attention to their conversation, knowing that he would soon get a full report - in layman's terms - from the medical examiner. Instead, the lead agent focused on Tony, who was moaning and beginning to fight the straps that held him down.

"Hey!" Gibbs demanded. "He's hurting! Can't someone give him something for the pain? And take off these damn restraints!" A nurse standing nearby looked at the lead agent like a deer in the headlights, wide-eyed and terrified.

Much to the young woman's relief, Dr. Mallard intervened. "Now, Jethro, do calm down. Anthony has been given the highest dose of painkiller they can safely give a man with a head injury, and the straps are there to keep him from hurting himself further. They're about to take him down for a CAT scan and find out the extent of his injuries. We'll go along, okay?" Ducky placed his hand on Gibbs' arm. He knew how his old friend felt about DiNozzo, and how much losing Tony could cost all of them. Because if something happened to Tony, Gibbs would never be the same. The ME prayed that it wouldn't come to that.

As Tony was wheeled out of the ER and onto the elevator, Gibbs and Ducky stayed right beside him. When he noticed how heavily the lead agent was limping, Dr. Mallard surreptitiously supported the other man with a hand under the elbow but wisely made no comment.

Once the group arrived in the scanning room the procedure didn't take long, and the staff broke protocol to allow Gibbs to stay by his subordinate's side. Not that they had much of a choice. The lead agent never let go of Tony's hand, and continuously murmured quiet words of reassurance as the machine did its work.

DiNozzo was taken to a private room while the test results were processed. The nurses swiftly and efficiently moved around the senior field agent as they tended to his injuries. They replaced the oxygen mask with a nasal cannula, noting that Tony's breathing had improved since their rescue from the cold warehouse. His damaged wrists were cleaned and carefully re-bandaged. A young doctor came in to examine his head wound, and the nurses wrapped white gauze around Tony's head once the doctor finished suturing it closed. All of that, combined with the IV still dripping saline into his arm, and the still-unconscious agent looked to be in rather pitiful shape. _At least they removed those restraints, _Gibbs observed with a sigh of relief.

Throughout the process Gibbs never left the younger man's side, though he did drop gratefully into the chair a nurse provided. Ducky had stayed too, consulting with the doctors and hovering over the nurses. Once Tony was settled, however, Ducky left to check on the CAT scan results and collect Abby from the waiting room. He and Gibbs both knew that the Goth scientist had probably already worried herself into a frenzy. Ziva and McGee had yet to arrive from the crime scene, so after the nurses disappeared Gibbs was alone with his senior field agent once more.

_Hell, DiNozzo,_ Gibbs thought wearily. He adjusted the chair so that he could extend his stiff and throbbing right knee, wincing at the pain the movement caused. _How many times have we been in this very spot? You in the bed, while I sit here and wait for you to wake up? Or wait for the doctor to come back and tell me if you even will? _

Gibbs sighed and allowed his eyes to drift closed. It did not take long for the lead agent to be consumed by his own exhaustion, and soon he was asleep. He was so tired, in fact, that he didn't even notice when a pair of nurses came in to check on their patient.

One of them gently placed a blanket over the older man while her companion took Tony's vitals. As they left, Gibbs awakened just enough to hear the whispered exchange.

"He's the father, I guess?"

The other nurse shrugged. "I assume so. Who else would be such a tyrant about being allowed to stay?"

Gibbs managed a faint smile as sleep claimed him once more.


	15. Chapter 15

A/N: Almost at the end! Another chapter or two and we'll be all wrapped up. I am blown away by the number of alerts I've gotten on this story, I'm so glad that people like it. Please let me know what you think of this chapter, I hope you enjoy! -abby

**********

Tony wasn't sure of his surroundings at first. He felt fuzzy and thinking was a lot harder than it should have been. He could tell he was in a bed, and slowly recognized the cool feeling tracing into his nostrils as oxygen. Groggily he began to put the pieces together and realized that he must be in the hospital, the detached feeling undoubtedly caused by some serious painkillers. _But why?_ he wondered. _Don't remember…_

The senior field agent risked opening his eyes a crack. Even the nighttime hospital lighting caused a sharp stab of pain and he gasped, which in turn caused him to cough.

Gibbs had been quietly watching his agent stir for the last several minutes and immediately notified the nurses' station. He placed a comforting hand on Tony's arm, then leaned forward so that Tony could see him without having to move his head too much. Tony blinked a few times, then woozily focused on his boss' face.

"Hey there," Gibbs said softly. He knew how painful loud noise would be to a man with a concussion as severe as DiNozzo's. "How ya doing?"

"Um," Tony whispered. "What...happened?"

The lead agent's brow furrowed at the question. He had been hoping that Tony would not suffer any memory loss from his head injuries, though Ducky had gently warned him that it was a distinct possibility.

"How much do you remember?" Gibbs gently probed.

Tony tried to think. He recalled being held hostage at the bank, although there were several large gaps where he knew he must have blacked out.

"Tim? Okay?" Tony found that he was having a hard time stringing words together. It seemed that his fog-filled brain was refusing to translate his thoughts into coherent sentences.

Gibbs nodded. "Yeah, Tim's fine. Couple of bruised ribs, a little stiff and sore is all. He and Abby were the ones who figured out where you and I were being held," the older man said carefully, intentionally being vague to try and gauge how badly DiNozzo's memory was impaired.

Tony briefly closed his eyes as he concentrated. He remembered Gibbs arriving at the bank...it seemed like a very long time ago. _Then we went somewhere else? In a car?_ Tony couldn't remember too much about that part, but he knew he had felt horribly sick. A haze of pain seemed to be part of everything he could recall.

"Car?" he managed. _That's very eloquent, Anthony,_ he thought with annoyance.

Unbeknownst to DiNozzo, his boss was so glad that he was finally awake and lucid that he would have waited all day for Tony to get out a single word if that's what it took. Gibbs patiently replied, "Right. One of the gunmen escaped from the police and drove us to an abandoned warehouse. Do you remember being there?"

Tony did remember bits and pieces, but was having a hard time putting it all together. _There was a big room, he tied us up again, then there was something about…my father?_ Tony was confused again. _That can't be right. What would my father have to do with any of this?_

Gibbs watched DiNozzo silently. The younger man was obviously struggling to remember, but Gibbs hesitated to offer too much information all at once. He hoped Tony could work some of it out for himself.

The puzzlement was clear on DiNozzo's face as he quietly asked, "My father?"

Even with just two words, Gibbs knew what his agent was getting at. He gently explained to Tony how their captor had worked out his family's identity and demanded a ransom from his father. The younger man accepted the story stoically, but Gibbs had intentionally left out the part he had learned from Fornell. _No point in needlessly upsetting him by confirming that his father's a heartless bastard,_ the lead agent reasoned. _Besides, judging from what he said to me in the warehouse he knows that already. _Gibbs had been so furious upon hearing Fornell's report that he had wanted nothing more than to head for Manhattan right that minute andtear the elder DiNozzo apart. The memory enraged Gibbs all over again and he pushed it aside, schooling his expression with an effort. He knew that Tony could read him like a book. _  
_

Tony sighed. He could tell that his boss was holding back something significant, but at the moment he was too tired to care. _Wish I could remember everything, _he thought wearily. _I'm missing a lot of the story for sure, too many holes._ That brought another question to mind. _How long was I unconscious?_

"Out?" he mumbled sleepily, knowing Gibbs would understand.

The older man rubbed the bridge of his nose as he answered. "Almost three days."

That got Tony's attention but just as he was about to respond, an attractive red-haired nurse entered the room. "Good evening, Agent DiNozzo. How are you feeling? You had us worried."

"Mmkay," Tony murmured, followed by a cough.

The nurse chuckled as she checked Tony's vitals and made notes on his chart. "I'm sure that's not entirely true, but I'm glad to see you're finally awake. Dr. Gray is on his way up, he'll be here shortly. See you later, Agent Gibbs," she acknowledged the older man with a smile on her way out the door.

DiNozzo raised an eyebrow, although it was partially obscured by the bandages still wrapped around his head. "A friend?" he quipped weakly as a ghost of a smile crossed his face.

Gibbs couldn't stifle a snort of laughter at the smart-ass comment. "Hell, DiNozzo. I haven't left your side for three days and you're gonna give me a hard time about it?"

Tony suddenly remembered a conversation from when they were locked in the warehouse. He could not recall specifics, but knew without a doubt that Gibbs had made it clear how much he cared. "Thanks," the senior field agent said sincerely.

Further explanation wasn't necessary. Gibbs knew what Tony meant, and he looked his agent in the eye and with equal sincerity said, "You're welcome. And I wanted to tell you that I'm proud of you, Tony. You did good."

The contented smile had yet to fade from DiNozzo's face when his doctor entered. Gibbs stiffly stood up and stepped over to a corner of the room while Dr. Gray examined his patient, using the opportunity to call Ducky and give him an update. The rest of his team had spent the last three days anxiously waiting for Tony to awaken, and Abby had threatened Gibbs within an inch of his life if he didn't call right away. Dr. Mallard was predictably pleased to receive the news and assured Gibbs that they would all be on their way soon.

He snapped the phone shut just as Dr. Gray finished his exam. "What's the word, Doctor?" the lead agent asked without preamble.

Gray was unruffled by Gibbs' brusque manner. He had been dealing with the lead agent since DiNozzo was brought in and was now accustomed to it. The doctor had come to realize that it was the silver-haired man's way of showing that he cared. He smiled. "Agent DiNozzo is doing quite well, considering he spent three days in a light coma. His reactions are good and his breathing has vastly improved. I don't think that chest infection is a risk any longer, and I'm comfortable taking him off the oxygen. He's still having a little trouble forming sentences, but his cognitive functions will keep improving as the swelling in his brain goes down. I feel confident in saying that he will make a full recovery."

Upon hearing those words, the lead agent felt several days' worth of tension drain from his body all at once. He thanked Dr. Gray and shook the man's hand firmly. As the doctor left, he looked down at his agent. Tony had dozed off, but Gibbs could tell that it was a peaceful sleep now and not the fitful unconsciousness that had trapped him for the last thirty-six hours. Gibbs knew that this was not over, that Tony had a long recovery ahead of him - both physically and emotionally - but for now just knowing that he would be okay was enough for the older man. The rest they would deal with together. Gibbs sat down in his now-familiar spot by Tony's bedside, and allowed himself to doze as well.


	16. Chapter 16

A/N: Standard disclaimers apply, as per usual. Don't own NCIS, and please take anything medical/technical/scientific with a grain of salt! :) I think there will be one more chapter after this one. Enjoy! -abby

**********

It wasn't long before a couple of nurses came in to remove Tony's nasal cannula, along with the bandages around his head. With Gibbs' help, they gently coaxed the reluctant patient into eating a few bites of toast and some juice. After his initial refusal, Tony managed to keep the food down and was pleasantly surprised to find that it actually helped settle the remaining nausea instead of making it worse. With the meds keeping his pain under control, the senior field agent had to admit that he was feeling a lot more like himself - if rather exhausted and foggy - by the time the rest of the team showed up for a visit. Gibbs was still sitting by Tony's side when Abby bounced in ahead of Ducky, Ziva and McGee. Her black pigtails bobbed wildly as she rushed over to her friend.

"Tony! I missed you! I'm so glad you're awake!" She gave Tony a gentle version of her usual crushing bear hug. He smiled wanly at the young Goth scientist in return. "Did you know that Gibbs has been here almost the entire time? Isn't that sweet? He wouldn't leave unless one of us was here with you, and even then only long enough to change clothes or grab some coffee! We were all so worried, but Gibbs was the most worried of all!" Tony looked appreciatively in Gibbs' direction, and in response received a fond look from the older man.

Ducky spoke up next, warmly greeting the younger man with a smile. "Abigail is right, my boy. You had us all quite concerned." He looked over at Gibbs. "What did his doctor say, Jethro?"

Gibbs summarized the doctor's report, finishing with, "He's still having a tough time with his speech, but Dr. Gray says that should improve soon."

Ziva and Tim had been standing quietly off to the side, taking in DiNozzo's appearance. He was very pale, a condition accentuated by the dark circles under his eyes and the bruising at his hairline. Tony seemed thin and fragile in the hospital bed. His wrists were wrapped in white bandages and an IV still slowly dripped into his arm. At the lead agent's words, McGee asked with concern, "But he'll be okay, right?"

"Okay," Tony tried to assure the junior agent with a dim version of his usual megawatt grin.

Gibbs could see from the look on Tim's face that he wasn't convinced. He looked the young man in the eye and said firmly, "Yeah, McGee. He's gonna be just fine." The junior agent nodded reluctantly.

Squeezing Tony's arm gently, Ziva said, "I am very glad that we found you in time, Tony." She hesitated. "And Special Agent Fornell sends his regards."

Tony was puzzled by that. _Fornell? That's it. Time for me to hear the whole story._ He gathered himself and shot a pointed look at Gibbs. "Story? Now." Tony was infuriated by his current inability to form a cohesive sentence. He glowered and tried again. "Fornell?" _Dammit all to hell_, he thought in frustration, his hands clenching into fists.

Abby gasped and covered her mouth with both hands. Concern was apparent on her face as well as those of her colleagues, all except for Gibbs. The lead agent placed a reassuring hand on Tony's shoulder. "Take it easy. It's gonna take time, remember?" However, stilted speech or not, Gibbs knew what Tony was saying. He supposed that there wasn't any point in continuing to hide the full story from his senior field agent. DiNozzo was a skilled investigator and would figure it out eventually, and Gibbs would prefer for Tony to hear the truth from him.

Gibbs took a breath and explained. "The FBI field office in Manhattan received a call about a ransom demand." The lead agent couldn't hide the fury that flashed in his blue eyes as he continued, "Your father had his secretary call it in as a 'public service'. He stated that he would not be paying the ransom," Gibbs hesitated for the briefest of seconds before finishing, "and that he was not interested in the outcome of the case."

Tony was quiet for a moment, and his friends watched carefully for a reaction. Finally the injured man said simply, "Surprised."

McGee exhaled loudly as he thought, _I knew it! _ Out loud, he said "I was surprised too! I couldn't believe it, Tony. I mean, that your father would be so callous and completely refuse to consider paying a ransom, that's pretty unbelievable-" Tim was cut off with a look from his boss.

"He doesn't mean that he's surprised his father refused to pay," Gibbs' voice was quiet. "He means he's surprised that his father called in the demand at all." The lead agent's ice blue eyes flicked over to meet Tony's. From the look of pain on the other man's face, Gibbs knew that he had interpreted correctly.

Tim was speechless. He opened and closed his mouth, looking for something to say. Silence hung awkwardly in the room for a moment.

Finally Abby spoke up. She knew Tony wasn't comfortable discussing his relationship with his family, so she deftly changed the subject. "Tony! You haven't even heard the part about the guy that took you hostage! You'll never guess what his deal was!" Abby plowed ahead, fully aware of the relief in Tony's posture. "He didn't have a criminal record or anything like that! His name was Jerry Foster, and he was just a regular guy, had a good job and a house and family and everything."

Ziva picked up the story when Abby paused to take a breath. "He was recently diagnosed with a terminal illness and given less than three months to live. It seems that he...how do you say...lost it? He decided that he needed to earn some fast money to leave for his wife and three children when he died."

"A noble gesture, but his methods were a bit lacking, I'm afraid," Ducky noted.

Abby nodded as she commented, "He figured he could win no matter what - either he would successfully rob the bank and get the money that way, or he would get killed in the process and his family could get an insurance payout." The Goth put her hands on her black-clad hips. "Obviously he wasn't thinking clearly. I don't think an insurance company would pay that claim without a fight."

McGee had finally recovered from his shock enough to chime in. "Foster was a demolitions expert for a construction company. He used his considerable knowledge of explosives - and his access to C-4 - to wire the little coffee shop across the street as his backup getaway plan. It was already a very complex plan, then he recognized your name and decided to take it in a whole new direction."

Tony looked somewhat baffled by the convoluted story. "Wow. Different," he managed, earning a chuckle from his friends.

"I know, right?" Abby agreed cheerfully. "It's so crazy! Who would have thought he was just a regular Joe? The way he killed his two men..." The smile dropped off the scientist's face as she trailed off. "We were so worried about what he might do to you and Gibbs!"

"But luckily, my dear, you found the crucial bit of evidence just in time." Ducky patted Abby on the shoulder as he explained, "There was a strange residue on the boots of the men Foster killed-"

Abby interrupted the tolerant ME, her excitement renewed with the chance to talk forensics. "It was from a steel mill! Timmy ran a search and found that there used to be a steel mill in the area, but it closed up years ago. Anyway, we took a chance that he would be holding you there and now here you are!" Abby bounced up and down with a grin.

Tony smiled at her. "Thanks," he said, then looked over at McGee. "Tim." He was clearly thanking the junior agent as well.

McGee sighed. He still felt bad for his earlier awkward statement, but figured there would be plenty of time to apologize later. Tony did not seem angry, and certainly wasn't in any shape to talk about it. Tim decided to take the path of least resistance - for once - and said sincerely, "You're welcome, Tony. For a while there we didn't have any leads at all, so I'm just really glad we were right."

Dr. Mallard looked at his watch. "We should go, I think we're about to overstay our welcome," he said to his colleagues. "Anthony needs his rest. Goodbye, my boy, we will check in with you tomorrow." The ME began the often-lengthy process of herding Abby toward the door.

"Bye, Tony!" The Goth waved cheerfully. "See you later!"

Ziva and McGee took their leave as well, and yet again Gibbs found himself alone with his senior field agent. He noticed Tony looking at him, but couldn't quite read the expression on the younger man's face.

"Stay?" was the only thing Tony could come up with. _ Jesus. That makes a whole lot of sense,_ he thought, frustrated and annoyed all over again.

Gibbs regarded his agent before asking carefully, "Are you asking me why I stayed? Or if I'm going to stay again?"

Tony was surprised. He had hardly known himself what he was trying to ask. He chuckled inwardly. _Why are you surprised? Gibbs always has the answers, so why not the questions too?_

"Yes." was Tony's response.

The silver-haired agent shook his head bemusedly. "I stayed because I wanted to. Because I care what happens to you, and there was nowhere more important for me to be than right here watching your six. And yes, I'll stay now. For the very same reasons." Gibbs continued mentally, _and because one of these days I'm going to get it through your thick skull that you are worthy of such attention._ He thought he had already made that clear to the younger man, but with DiNozzo's history it was really no wonder that Tony had such a hard time believing it. Gibbs sighed. "Now go to sleep, Tony."

Tony looked at his boss and smiled gratefully before obeying.


	17. Chapter 17

A/N: This is it, the final chapter! Maybe a little angsty, but all's well that ends well, right? Hope y'all enjoyed reading this story as much as I enjoyed writing it. And thank you, as always, for all of the reviews and alerts. They mean a lot to me! -abby

**********

Two days later, Tony's doctor decided that he was sufficiently recovered to be released from the hospital. A CAT scan had confirmed that his head injury was healing nicely, and a nurse had come in that morning to finally free Tony of the hated IV. Only his left wrist remained bandaged, the white gauze protecting his badly damaged skin as it continued to heal. The sutures had already been removed from the wound above his left ear, and besides being several pounds lighter and a few shades paler, Tony looked almost back to normal.

DiNozzo moved slowly, getting himself dressed as Gibbs stood out in the hallway talking with Dr. Gray. The senior field agent didn't know what they were discussing, but had a pretty good idea. _ Some sort of conditions for my release, no doubt. There's always a catch,_ Tony mused as he tied his shoelaces. _ Doesn't matter,_ he decided. _I'll do whatever it takes to get out of this place._ He had always despised being in the hospital, especially once he started to feel better. It was such a depressing place, and gave him too much quiet time to think. Tony was looking forward to getting back to his comfortable apartment, with its distracting big-screen TV and extensive movie collection. _And no one to hassle me about eating enough, or make me answer a million questions a day to try and "improve my cognitive functions"_. Tony thought with annoyance. He had rapidly lost patience with the speech therapy that Dr. Gray had recommended.

Sure enough, a moment later Gibbs re-entered the room with Tony's marching orders. "Let's go, DiNozzo. You're coming back to my place."

Tony stared at his boss. That hadn't been what he was expecting to hear. "Why?" he asked, suspicious.

Gibbs sighed, as though the answer was obvious. "Because," he replied flatly. "I don't trust you to take care of yourself."

"Boss, I'm hurt," Tony feigned offense.

"Too bad. Don't think I haven't noticed how you won't eat unless someone is standing over you, and anyway, you need to be around people until your speech is back up to par. I may not be the world's greatest conversationalist, but I'm better than that gigantic idiot box at your place," Gibbs said. He didn't bother to mention the fact that he was reluctant to leave Tony alone with his thoughts for too long. They had not again discussed Tony's father since the conversation with the rest of the team a few days before, and Gibbs suspected that it was only a matter of time.

_Hey, leave my TV out of this_, Tony thought, but he knew that his boss may have a point. Even though he was loathe to admit it, Tony was still speaking haltingly and occasionally having difficulty forming coherent sentences. _That irritating speech therapist said I just need to keep talking and it will get easier. Whatever._ And truth be told, he didn't really feel like being alone. He rolled his eyes and huffed, "Fine. Your place."

Gibbs smiled. "That's right. Let's go, I already signed you out." He grabbed Tony's bag as a nurse came in with a wheelchair.

Predictably, Tony opened his mouth to protest but his boss forestalled the argument with a look. Obviously annoyed, the senior field agent grudgingly acquiesced and sat in the chair. Much to Gibbs' amusement, Tony sulked the entire way down the hospital corridor, during the ride in the elevator, and until they were both buckled into the car. The lead agent shook his head and chuckled.

"You ready?" he asked.

At Tony's nod, Gibbs started the car and headed toward his house. Mindful of his still-recovering charge, he drove far more cautiously than usual and even kept his speed within five miles of the limit. DiNozzo was quiet for the duration of the trip, staring absently out the window.

Fifteen minutes later, Gibbs pulled up in front of his house. He herded Tony inside, pointing the younger man in the direction of the kitchen. "It's lunchtime. Go sit down, I'll fix us something to eat." DiNozzo silently complied. Gibbs put Tony's bag in the spare bedroom, then headed for the kitchen himself.

Tony was sitting at the table, just as he had been instructed. He looked up as his boss entered and managed a wan smile. "Want help?" Tony asked.

Gibbs shook his head as he began pulling food out of the refrigerator and dishes out of the cabinets. "Nope, I got it." He was worried about the sudden tension in Tony's posture and needed to get the younger man talking. "Something on your mind?" The lead agent kept his tone light. He did not want Tony to feel pressured into discussing anything he wasn't ready for.

DiNozzo shrugged. "Wondering about work."

"What about it?" Gibbs asked, as he prepared sandwiches and put some soup on the stove.

"Shouldn't you be there, not...babysitting? Been several days." Tony said.

Gibbs shook his head. "Nah. Would you believe that I have several months' worth of leave saved up? Decided I may as well use some of it. Besides, McGee and David did so well while you and I were missing, I figured they might enjoy running the show for a while longer."

That got a quiet laugh out of the senior field agent. "Hope Probie doesn't let the power go to his head."

"Ziva'll keep him in line, I'm sure," Gibbs chuckled. He knew that Tony was avoiding the real issue, but Gibbs was more than willing to keep up the small talk. Either way, the younger man was sounding more comfortable with each word that he spoke. Before agreeing to discharge his patient, Dr. Gray had emphasized the importance of conversation as a part of Tony's recovery. The damage the severe concussion had caused was not irreparable, but would require some effort to get Tony back to full capacity. And as Ducky had carefully warned Gibbs, talking was going to be a large part of his emotional recovery as well. 'You must get him to talk about it, Jethro,' the elderly ME had said. 'This entire awful affair has forced Anthony to face some long-buried truths. As you know, he is a master at hiding his feelings, and if we let this go unchecked he won't ever deal with them. They will slowly tear him apart.' Gibbs had promised his old friend that he would do his best to get DiNozzo to open up.

The faint smile had dropped off Tony's face, and he looked pensive as Gibbs placed their meal on the table and sat down across from his agent. "Eat," Gibbs instructed.

They ate in companionable silence for a few moments, although it did not escape the older man's notice that Tony was playing with his food more than actually consuming it. "DiNozzo." At the no-nonsense tone in his boss' voice, Tony looked up. "I'm not totally blind. You aren't fooling me by moving your food around. I can see that you aren't eating."

Tony sighed. "Not really hungry, Boss."

Gibbs softened his tone. "I know you aren't, but you've already lost several pounds in the last few days. You know as well as I do that Ducky isn't going to like it if you get any thinner, he'll never let either of us hear the end of it. I brought you here so I could make sure you're taken care of. Now eat."

After another heavy sigh, Tony took a bite of his sandwich, followed by a tiny amount of the soup. "It's good, Boss, I just..." he trailed off, seemingly at a loss for words. Gibbs waited patiently as the younger man gathered his thoughts. When Tony spoke again the words were slow, though it was hard for Gibbs to tell if that was a result of stress or the head injury. "This thing...at the bank, because of a stupid bet...Tim could have been killed...then you, and the ransom. Because of me, you know? Feels a lot like the whole thing...totally my fault." Tony closed his eyes and rubbed his temples, immensely frustrated with the entire situation. _Getting **myself** into trouble is one thing, but now apparently I'm dragging other people down with me. Probie, Boss, they both could have been killed and none of it would have ever happened if it weren't for me. _ Tony was not usually inclined to feel sorry for himself, but in the last several days he had been forced to think more about his pathetic family relationships more than he had in years. Revisiting the long-repressed feelings of abandonment and worthlessness had taken a toll.

_And there it is,_ Gibbs thought._ His whole childhood, the poor kid was taught to take the blame for everything. It's a lesson he learned better than any other. _ The lead agent mentally cursed Tony's father for the thousandth time as he said, "DiNozzo. We've been through this."

The younger man looked puzzled. "We have?"

_He doesn't remember_, Gibbs realized. That conversation had taken place while they were being held hostage, and Tony's memory of their captivity was still filled with considerable gaps. _That's okay,_ the lead agent decided_. Certainly doesn't hurt to go over it again_.

"Yeah, but don't worry about it. The bank was not your fault, Tony. It was just bad timing." Gibbs repeated his firm declaration from the warehouse. "You won a bet and wanted your money. Fair enough. As for the ransom, that was not your fault either, just a bizarre fluke. What are the chances that you would be taken hostage by someone that knew about your family? Slim to none. It was all just random chance, a huge case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"Bad luck, huh?" Tony was clearly not buying the argument.

"Yep. Is that so hard to believe?"

"Don't know, Boss. Sounds an awful lot like a-" Tony paused, searching for the correct word, "-coincidence to me." The familiar glint of mischief in his eyes was unmistakable, and a welcome sight to the older man.

Gibbs snorted as he tried to cover a chuckle. "Yeah, I guess it kind of does. Hell, DiNozzo. Call it whatever you want, I'm just trying to say that none of this was your fault." His voice became serious once again as he emphasized, "**None** of it. Do you hear me? You got a raw deal in terms of family. I don't know what happened between you and your father, but I **do** know that any man who doesn't care about his own child is not worthy of the title."

Tony was unwilling - as always - to let go of the blame that easily. "You could have been killed."

"Yeah? So could you. You almost were." Gibbs responded.

The younger man shrugged dismissively. "Who cares?"

The simple statement infuriated the lead agent, and he couldn't mask the frustration in his voice as he exploded, "Dammit, DiNozzo! ** I** do. I thought I had made at least that much clear. Why can't you just believe that there are actually people who care what happens to you?"

Tony sighed. "I'm sorry. I know. It's just...my father...always said I was worthless and a burden." The senior field agent faltered as the surfacing emotions, combined with the head trauma, caused him to lose the words. "You...care. Great, what if...you...angry? Stop caring? Dammit!" _ God, you sound like a blithering idiot, DiNozzo! Just shut up!_ Tony's frustration overwhelmed him and he abruptly rose to his feet, knocking his chair to the ground. Gibbs watched him stalk across the room and run shaky hands through his hair before turning and sliding down the wall to sit on the floor, knees drawn up to his chest.

The lead agent got up and crossed the kitchen, easing himself down onto the floor beside DiNozzo. His still-aching knee protested as he got settled. Gibbs spoke quietly, as if to a frightened child. "Take it easy. Is that what you're afraid of? That you'll somehow make me so angry that I'll stop caring what happens to you?" Tony shrugged as he kept his head buried on his knees. Gibbs sighed and gently squeezed the back of the younger man's neck. "Tony. Please listen to me. That's not going to happen. There is nothing you could ever do that would make me stop caring about you. You are that important. Hey, look at me."

DiNozzo slowly lifted his head to reveal red-rimmed eyes. Gibbs continued, "I am not your father. But that doesn't mean that we aren't family. Me, Ducky, McGee, Abby, Ziva - hell, even Palmer in his own weird-ass way - we all care about you. McGee has been calling to check on you practically every hour, and Abby was a basket case before you woke up."

Tony seemed to be considering his boss' words. "Really?" he asked with a voice full of hope.

"Really. Have I ever lied to you?" Gibbs locked his agent in an intense stare.

DiNozzo relaxed and allowed a small smile to creep onto his face. "Never."

"Damn straight. And I don't intend to start." Gibbs' voice was firm, but kind. "Now help me up." Tony stood and pulled his boss to his feet, a genuine smile finally blossoming across his pale features.

The two agents sat back down at the table. Gibbs pointed at Tony's plate. "Eat. All of it."

The senior field agent looked thoughtful as he ate. He had suddenly remembered a small bit of a conversation with Gibbs in the warehouse. Tony put his sandwich down and took a deep breath, gathering himself. _This is important, gotta make sure I say it right_, he thought. He opened his mouth and carefully said, "You know, you really are...the first person to truly care. My whole life. Thank you for...everything."

Gibbs finally voiced his private thoughts from several days before. "It always has been - and always will be - my pleasure, Tony."

They lapsed into comfortable silence once more, finishing their lunch as each man contemplated the other's sincere words.

Suddenly, something occurred to Gibbs and he grinned. "Hey, DiNozzo. You never told me, what was that bet about, anyway?"


End file.
